Lighting systems and consumer lamp indices show mixed Q1

Demand for lighting equipment, as measured by NEMA’s Lighting Systems Shipments Index, increased by 1.4 % year-over-year (y/y) during 2015 Q1. However, the quarter-to-quarter change was in negative territory, with a decline of 3.6 percent. Emergency lighting and fixtures gained ground while the ballast and lamp–large and miniature–components tempered these gains with (y/y) declines.

NEMA’s shipments indices for consumer lamps also saw mixed results during 2015 Q1, as year-over-year (y/y) declines were registered in two of the four lamp types. Incandescent A-line lamp shipments decreased by 89.4 percent while compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) dropped 9.4 percent. Halogen A-line and LED A-line lamps posted year-over-year increases of 61.5 and 153.6 percent, respectively. However, quarter-to-quarter performances were far more subdued as the index for LED A-line lamps increased by 7% and the index for halogen A-line lamps retreated by 16.2 percent.

Halogen A-line lamp shipments secured the top position with a share of 44.3 percent, followed by CFLs with a share of 40 percent during 2015 Q1. Incandescent A-line lamps garnered a share of 9.4 percent. LED A-line lamps increased their share by nearly two percentage points reaching 6.3 percent of the consumer lamp market.

In a separate report, NEMA said sales of linear fluorescent lamps continued the long-term decline it saw throughout 2014. The Linear Fluorescent Lamp Shipments Index for T12 lamps dropped 39.5% year-over-year. T8 lamps fell 21.7% and T5 lamps declined 14.8%. T8 lamps are still dominant in market-share terms with 72.8% of the market while T5s edged up to 11.2% (an all-time high) and T12s slipped to just 15.9%.