Lighting Fixtures

Lighting Fixtures

US demand to rise about 7% annually through 2018
Demand for lighting fixtures in the US will rise approximately seven percent per year to more than $30 billion in 2018. In general, advances will be aided by the ongoing recovery in both residential and nonresidential construction activity, as well as by rising personal consumption expenditures as the economy continues to improve following the 2007-2009 recession and subsequent slow recovery. Sales will be further stimulated by the growing interest in higher value, technologically advanced fixtures that are more energy efficient and optimized for new light source technologies.

Regulatory changes will favor higher value fixtures
Regulatory changes and technological innovations that affect the types of light sources available will also boost sales in lighting fixtures. As a way to ease consumer acceptance of new technology, some new light sources were initially designed to fit in existing lighting fixtures that had been created for older types of light sources. As a result, sales of new fixtures have often lagged the introduction and adoption of new light source technologies. However, the performance of these new light sources is not optimal when used in legacy fixtures. As more types of fixtures designed specifically for light emitting diodes (LEDs), advanced fluorescent lamps, and other longer-lived, highly efficient lighting technologies are introduced, these higher value fixtures will account for a greater share of fixture sales going forward. For instance, sales of LED lighting fixtures are expected to nearly triple through 2018 to account for about half of total fixture sales. In many cases, they will replace existing fixtures designed for use with less efficient light sources (e.g., general purpose incandescent lamps, T12 fluorescent tubes, many types of incandescent and halogen reflector lamps) as lamp stocks dwindle following phase-outs.

Construction market to be fastest growing
Construction applications account for the majority of lighting fixture demand and are expected to post the fastest growth among major markets. A variety of nonportable lighting fixtures for indoor and outdoor use are employed in residential and nonresidential buildings, as well as in nonbuilding settings such as roadways, marinas, and parks. Advances will be driven by a recovery in construction spending, with particularly rapid gains in the residential and nonresidential segments. Retrofitting of fixtures with new, energy efficient types optimized for advanced light source technologies will help to drive these gains, as building owners and facility managers are eager to reap the savings on electricity usage that such fixtures offer.

In addition to construction applications, lighting fixtures are used in vehicles and machinery as well as in consumer and commercial settings (e.g., flashlights, desk lamps, table lamps, and appliances). The vehicle and machinery market is expected to grow more slowly than other markets through 2018; motor vehicle production recovered earlier than construction spending, so 2013 represents a higher base and leaves less pent-up demand to be released going forward. The consumer and commercial market will benefit from rising interest in LED based fixtures; these are more expensive than incandescent and fluorescent fixtures due to the inclusion of the LED light sources.