LED chip prices decline, manufacturers delay the purchase of MOCVD equipment

According to industry sources, China's LED epitaxial wafers and chip makers originally planned to purchase a total of 280 to 300 MOCVD devices in 2018, but due to the continued decline in LED chip prices, purchase orders for more than 100 devices have been temporarily postponed.

In the MOCVD equipment originally planned for 2018, 200-250 units are expected to be installed this year.

Sources said that since the increase in production capacity of Chinese manufacturers led to an oversupply situation, since the fourth quarter of 2017, the price of LED chips began to decline.

As the largest two LED epitaxial wafers and chip manufacturers in China, Sanan Optoelectronics and Huacan Optoelectronics lowered the price of LED chips by 20% in the fourth quarter of 2017; at the same time, LED prices dropped more than in the first quarter of 2018 10%.

In 2017, Chinese manufacturers added more than 240 new MOCVD devices, so more than 1,700 devices were put into operation by the end of 2017. At this point, Chinese manufacturers together accounted for more than 50% of the global MOCVD business.