Lamp Demand to Reach $6.8 Billion in 2013

US demand for lamps is forecast to rise 3.8 percent per year through 2013 to $6.8 billion.  Federal regulations intended to reduce the energy consumed by lighting will spur demand for fluorescent lamps at the expense of conventional incandescent lamps.  Fluorescent lamps’ higher cost will raise overall market value through 2013. These and other trends , including market share and product segmentation, are presented in US Lamps, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will effectively ban the sale of general service incandescent lamps starting in 2012, and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are expected to replace most of these lamps as they burn out.  Demand for CFLs will surge more than 20 percent annually through 2013 as consumers transition to the new technology.  Long-term demand will ultimately decline, however, as CFLs last much longer than the incandescent lamps they will replace. 

Halogen lamps are also forecast to grow especially fast through 2013, benefiting from the ban on general service incandescent lamps.  Although less efficient and shorter-lived than CFLs, halogen lamps outperform CFLs in terms of color rendering, and they do not contain mercury.  Demand for halogen lamps will also benefit from recovering production of motor vehicles, as halogen lamps find widespread use as headlamps. 

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) pose a serious threat to future lamp demand.  Although their high price has limited usage in traditional lighting applications so far, technological innovations that reduce costs and improve performance will likely lead to the widespread adoption of LED-based lighting devices.  In the long term, lamps are expected to lose market share to LEDs, especially in such markets as motor vehicles and nonresidential buildings. 

Imports accounted for 45 percent of the US lamp market in 2008.  Products from China constituted the majority of these imports, owing to cost advantages in the production of conventional incandescent and fluorescent lamps.  Through 2013, imports are expected to make further inroads, as the fastest growing product type, CFLs, are largely manufactured overseas.

The Freedonia Group is a leading international business research company, founded in 1985, that publishes more than 100 industry research studies annually. This industry analysis provides an unbiased outlook and a reliable assessment of an industry and includes product segmentation and demand forecasts, industry trends, demand history, threats and opportunities, competitive strategies, market share determinations and company profiles.