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 percent from the previous quarter. Moreover, the index fell by 20.6 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), a popular substitute for A-line incandescent lamps, also posted a third consecutive quarterly decline during 2013Q2. The CFL index fell by 0.6 percent compared to Q1 2013 and 8.5 percent from the same period last year. Shipments of halogen A-line lamps remain robust, having registered a quarterly gain of 28.3 percent.

Incandescent lamps fell to a share of 64.5 percent during the quarter compared to 25.1 and 10.4 percent, 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.