NEMA’s lamp indices for incandescent and compact fluorescent (CFL) lamps increased 6.7 and 15.5 percent, respectively, during the fourth quarter of 2009. Sales of incandescent lamps during the quarter were sufficient in tempering the rate of erosion in year-over-year growth for this index component, declining by 2.2 percent compared to the 12.0 percent average over the previous three quarters. Similarly, the decline in CFL sales slowed to 4.3 percent on a year-over-year basis versus a decline of 17.5 percent for the previous quarter. For the full calendar year, both index components showed similar results by seeing a roughly 10 percent decline from 2008.

CFLs lost market share to incandescent lamps for the second consecutive quarter, decreasing to 22.0 percent. Moreover, the share of CFLs has remained fairly consistent for the last three years indicating consumer demand has hit a plateau that could persist into the foreseeable future absent a stronger pick-up in U.S. economic growth or re-emerging concerns over energy costs.