According to a recent report released by Cleveland-based industrial market research firm The Freedonia Group, U.S. demand for lamps is forecast to advance 3.1% per year through 2009 to $5.2 billion. The growth will be limited by competition from alternative lighting technologies such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and fiber optic lighting systems, according to Tonia Ferrell, research analyst with The Freedonia Group.
“LEDs and fiber optics are really making a strong push right now and taking over a lot of the simple applications that lamps used to perform,” she says. “For instance, backlighting in your instrument panel or in your car, a lot of those are being replaced by LEDs.”
According to the report, the strongest gains in the lamp market will come from electrical discharge lamps such as fluorescent and high-intensity discharge (HID) units, which will benefit from accelerated spending on transportation infrastructure. Due to its widespread use in residential applications, the incandescent lamp is expected to remain the single most commonly used type of lamp through 2009. However, the report predicts that halogens will continue to gain some of the incandescent lamp market share in building and vehicular applications.