Incandescent Lamp Shipments Wane During Second Quarter

Shipments of traditional A-line incandescent lamps, as measured by NEMA’s lamp shipment index, decreased for the third consecutive quarter in Q2 2013, reaching a low point for the series. Second quarter activity showed a decline of 8.6% from the previous quarter. Moreover, the index fell by 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), a substitute for A-line incandescent lamps, also posted a third consecutive quarterly decline during 2013Q2. The CFL index fell by 0.6% compared to Q1 2013 and 8.5% from the same period last year. Shipments of halogen A-line lamps remain robust, having registered a quarterly gain of 28.3%.

Incandescent lamps fell to a share of 64.5% during the quarter compared to 25.1% and 10.4%, respectively for CFLs and halogen A-line lamps. While modest gains in the share garnered by CFLs have been consistent over the previous four quarters, the share of halogen A-line lamps is nearly 8 percentage points higher than last year.

We can expect halogen A-line lamps, which provide nearly equivalent performance while saving energy, to continue to grow in popularity to become the new standard for incandescent sockets.

Craig DiLouie

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