A recent news announcement from market analyst iSuppli states that aided by rising demand from LCD-TV makers, the LED market is expected to expand in 2009, providing a rare growth opportunity amid sharp revenue declines in most other electronics component categories.

According to the report, LEDs are expected to enjoy a revenue increase of 2.9 percent in 2009, following 10.8 percent growth in 2008. In contrast, the overall semiconductor market is set to decline by 9.4 percent in 2009. “LEDs are forecast for growth this year—a highly unusual item in our semiconductor forecast, given that almost all other components will suffer revenue contractions in 2009,” said Dale Ford, senior vice president, market intelligence services, for iSuppli.

“Of the 12 major semiconductor categories tracked by iSuppli in its Application Market Forecast Tool (AMFT)," he says, "nine are expected to suffer revenue declines in 2009—ranging from memory chips, to logic Integrated Circuits (ICs), to power transistors. Although a 2.9 percent increase is only a moderate rise by the standards of the semiconductor industry, any revenue growth at all this year will be a remarkable accomplishment. (Source: Society for Information Display)