“Extremely encouraging” is how National Lighting Bureau Executive Director John Bachner characterized 2Q13 performance of the NEMA Lighting Systems Index (LSI), which posted its strongest showing since the 3Q08. “The quarter-to-quarter (QOQ) increase was 2.4 percent; not earth-shattering, to be sure, but it was the third consecutive quarterly increase, and represents an almost-5 percent increase in lighting-equipment shipments on a year-over-year (YOY) basis.

NEMA’s LSI is a composite measure of luminaires, ballasts, miniature lamps, large lamps, and emergency lighting shipped throughout the U.S. by the lighting-equipment manufacturers of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). Adjusted for seasonality and inflation, the Index uses 2002 data for its 100-point benchmark.

According to NEMA Director of Statistical Operations Stacey Harrison, 2Q13 LSI performance was paced by increased demand for fixtures, emergency lamps, and miniature lamps; shipments of ballasts and large lamps declined.

Addressing the future, Bachner commented that “the outlook for residential construction still remains bright, although the government shutdown, political wrangling in Washington, D.C., and higher mortgage rates seem to be depressing homebuilders’ optimism; a modest near-term decline is possible. The nonresidential-construction market remains slow, but economists are somewhat consistent in a belief that we’ll see a turn-around in 1Q14, thanks to a growing housing market, robust domestic-energy production, higher employment, and healthier local, state, and federal tax revenues.”

Established in 1976, the National Lighting Bureau is an independent, IRS-recognized not-for-profit, educational foundation that has served as a trusted lighting-information source since 1976. The Bureau’s services are made possible by the generous funding of its sponsors; professional societies, trade associations, manufacturers, and agencies of the U.S. government, including, among others:

• GE Lighting;
• Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES);
• Imperial Lighting Maintenance Company;
• interNational Association of Lighting Management Companies (NALMCO);
• Lighting Controls Association;
• LumenOptix;
• Lutron Electronics Company, Inc.;
• Magnaray;
• National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA);
• National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA);
• OSRAM SYLVANIA;
• U.S. General Services Administration; and
• Visioneering Corporation.

A founding sponsor of the National Lighting Bureau and creator of the enLIGHTen America communications campaign (www.nemasavesenergy.org), NEMA is an association of electrical-equipment and medical-imaging manufacturers, founded in 1926 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. NEMA’s 400-plus member companies manufacture a diverse set of products, including power transmission and distribution equipment, lighting systems, factory automation and control systems, and medical diagnostic-imaging systems. Total U.S. shipments for electroindustry products exceed US$ 100 billion annually.