NEMA’s Lighting Systems Index increased 1.9 percent from the second to the third quarters of 2014, climbing to its highest level to date in calendar year 2014.  The index posted a gain of 4.1 percent on a year-over-year basis. Shipments of emergency lighting, fixtures, and miniature lamps improved during the quarter; however, ballast and large lamp shipments fell.

NEMA Lighting Systems Index. (Source:NEMA)

CFL shipment lags behind LED A-line lamps

​NEMA’s index for compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) shipments registered a year-over-year decline of 14.5 percent in the third quarter of 2014 despite a modest quarterly increase of 1.5 percent. For the first three quarters of 2014, the CFL index decreased 13.1 percent compared to the same period last year. The shipments index for incandescent A-line lamps posted a decline of 62.9 percent (q/q). In contrast, shipments of LED A-line and halogen A-line lamps continued to grow, showing quarterly gains of 53.8 and 37.7 percent, respectively.

The proliferation of halogen A-line lamp shipments, and subsequent decline in shipments of incandescent A-line lamps, has resulted in an increase in market share for halogen A-line lamps. Halogen A-line lamps captured a share of 39.9 percent during the quarter, second only to CFLs, which continued to hold a narrow lead with a 41.1 percent share. The share of LED lamp shipments was 5.1 percent, an increase of 2 percentage points. Incandescent A-line lamps fell nearly 20 points to a share of 13.6 percent.

NEMA stats for halogen A-Line, incandescent A-Line, LED A-Line, and CFL shipments. (Source: NEMA)

Traditional luminaires HID and sodium mercury shipments drop

​High intensity discharge (HID) lamp shipments, as measured by NEMA’s HID indexes, showed quarterly declines in two of the three lamp types. Sodium- and mercury-vapor lamps slipped 8.9 and 10.9 percent, respectively, from the second quarter to the third quarter. Only the index for metal halide increased during the quarter, posting a modest gain of 2 percent. 

Shipments of metal halide lamps increased 2.7 percentage points to a share of 63.5 percent of the HID market. The market share for sodium vapor lamps slipped to 32.7 percent, a decline of 2.3 percentage points. Mercury vapor lamps decreased by 0.4 points to a share of 3.8 percent.

Comparison between sodium vapor, mercury vapor, and metal halide shipments. (Source: NEMA)

T12 tube lights shipments grow in U.S. market

NEMA’s shipment index for T12 lamps bested the previous two quarters by advancing 8.6 percent from the second quarter to the third. In contrast, shipments of T5 and T8 lamps decreased by 6.6 and 11.1 percent, respectively. All three indexes are in negative territory on a year-over-year basis for 2014 through the third quarter. 

T12 lamps secured an increase in market share for the quarter posting a gain of 3.2 percentage points to reach a share of 22.2 percent. The share of T5 lamps was unchanged at 10 percent. Meanwhile, the market share for T8 lamps decreased to 67.8 percent. 

Comparison between T5, T8 and T12 tube light shipments. (NEMA)