Lighting Industry

  On July 2, 2025, The White House announced a new tariff agreement with Vietnam, representing the administration’s first trade deal in Asia outside of China, and signaling a notable shift in US trade policy in the region. The agreement sets a 20% tariff rate on certain goods. The primary goal of this deal is [...]

  LED Roadway Lighting Ltd. recently acquired Evluma. Below is my exclusive interview with Ken Cartmill, Co-CEO of LED Roadway. Shiller: Congratulations on LED Roadway’s recent acquisition of Evluma. There do appear to be some interesting synergies between the two companies, such as complimentary geographic strengths. Can you speak to what you see as the [...]

“Agentic” AI in quickly gaining adoption in big box retail, including Walmart’s recent launch of its AI-powered shopping assistant, “Sparky.” Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can act on behalf of customers, such as placing orders, rather than just providing recommendations or information. Walmart’s introduction of Sparky marks a significant step in the [...]

  Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP), commonly referred to as “tooth-in-eye” surgery, is a remarkable and complex surgical procedure designed to restore vision in patients who are blind due to severe corneal damage, particularly when all other treatments have failed. Developed over 60 years ago by Italian ophthalmic surgeon Benedetto Strampelli, OOKP is now performed in select centers [...]

A decade after the widespread shift from fluorescent and HID lighting to LEDs, early adopters are now facing the need to replace their first-generation LED fixtures. Traditionally, utility rebate programs have not supported “LED-to-LED” upgrades, focusing instead on the initial move away from legacy lighting. However, as LED technology and energy efficiency standards have advanced, [...]

The recent 90-day tariff reprieve between the U.S. and China, announced last week, marks a significant but temporary easing of trade tensions that have deeply affected the lighting industry and many other industries reliant on Chinese imports. The agreement reduces tariffs on imports from China from an unprecedented 145% to 30%, and on U.S. goods [...]

By Derek Bobbitt and Geoff Ling, Merrimack Group The first 100 days of the new U.S. administration have been tumultuous to say the least. The tariff war has caused major disruption to supply chains, caused significant stock market volatility, and stoked fears of inflation and recession. For lighting business owners, this environment has introduced a [...]

President Trump’s unprecedented tariffs on Chinese imports, which have triggered a dramatic drop in shipments from China to the United States, cast a shadow of uncertainty over the U.S. economy. President Trump, fulfilling campaign promises, has radically altered decades of American trade policy by imposing broad and unpredictable tariffs. As of early April 2025, a [...]

A recent study conducted by researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine has uncovered a potential link between blue light exposure and an increased risk of kidney stone formation, raising important questions about the health impacts of modern lighting and screen use. Kidney stones are a growing global health concern, traditionally associated with [...]