The LED market reached $4.2 billion in 2006 and is set to emerge from its current state of low growth, according to Strategies Unlimited. Emerging applications including illumination will drive the market towards $9 billion by 2011, as LEDs Magazine   reports.

Growth in the high-brightness LED market in the next 3-5 years will be driven by lighting, display backlighting and automotive applications, and the overall market will reach $9 billion by 2011, according to the market research firm Strategies Unlimited.

Presenting his annual market review and forecast at the Strategies in Light conference in early February, Strategies Unlimiteds Bob Steele said that the market will begin to move away from its current low-growth phase in the next 1-3 years, as new markets begin to emerge.

Steele said that the overall LED market grew by 6% year-on-year in 2006 to reach $4.2 billion. A similar rate of growth was seen between 2004 and 2005. Total LED shipments exceeded 30 billion units in 2006, having being less than 20 billion units in 2004.