The National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s product shipment indices are starting to look better after a rough year. Rosslyn, Va.-based NEMA’s lamp indices for incandescent and compact fluorescent lamps increased 6.7 and 15.5 percent, respectively, during the fourth quarter of 2009 from the previous quarter. Sales of incandescent lamps had fallen by an average of 12 percent over the previous three quarters. For the full calendar year, both index components saw a roughly 10 percent decline from 2008.
Motor shipments increased 6.1 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009 according to the latest Motors Shipments Index (MSI). The increase marks the second consecutive gain for the index. Nonetheless, demand for motors remains weak compared to its performance of recent years, as the MSI is still 5.7 percent below the level posted in the fourth quarter of 2008. Adjusted shipments of fractional horsepower motors rose for the third consecutive quarter, while integral horsepower motors saw only their second increase in the past seven quarters.
NEMA’s Primary Industrial Controls Index showed a 2.3 percent quarter-to-quarter increase in Q4 2009. After the index plunged more than 34 percent from its peak in the span of just four quarters, it has managed to post gains — albeit modest ones — in each of the last two quarters.