Construction + Economy

Shipments of metal halide high intensity discharge (HID) lamps grew by 4.6 percent to 87.1 during the third quarter of 2010. The index showed solid year-over-year growth increasing 5.7 percent. Conversely, sodium vapor HID lamp shipments retrenched 10.4 percent during the quarter to 82.1, the second lowest level on record for the index. Mercury vapor [...]

NEMA’s shipment indexes for linear fluorescent T5, T8, and T12 lamps increased during the third quarter of 2010. T5 lamps showed the largest rate of growth, advancing 6.6 percent, while T8s and T12s registered more modest gains of 0.6 and 0.1 percent, respectively. The T5 index grew 48.7 percent from a year ago and has [...]

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Hanley Wood, LLC have unveiled the first issue of the recently revamped Architect magazine. Now the new official publication of the AIA, Architect will be the largest of the four titles published as part of the partnership. The other magazines include Residential Architect, EcoHome and Eco-Structure. In addition, [...]

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American business conditions climbed for a second consecutive month in December, rising 5.5 points to 68, its highest level since June. A reading above 50 indicates more panelists than not reported conditions improved during the month. Forty percent of survey panelists reported improved conditions in December, [...]

After stepping back in October reversing into the negative territory, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) rose more than three points in November to reach its highest mark since December 2007. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. [...]

Info on electrical contractors from the 2007 Economic Census, and official government projections for electrician needs in 2018–printed in six 2010 issues of tED magazine–was recently posted to The EleBlog, operated by a guy I’m proud to call friend and colleague, Joe Salimando, a freelance writer/editor for TED. “After the December issue posted, I noticed [...]

NEMA’s index for incandescent lamps declined 17.2 percent for the third quarter, registering a record low reading of 46.5. The index showed a year-over-year decline of nearly 19.0 percent. Shipments of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) waned as well, with the index dipping 18.2 percent to 168.8—a level not seen since 2006. Moreover, CFL shipments decreased [...]

Following the first positive reading since January 2008, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dropped nearly two points in October. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the October ABI score [...]

NEMA’s Lighting Systems Index (LSI) ticked 0.9% higher on a quarter-to-quarter basis during 2010Q3. On a year-over-year basis, the index showed a 5.6% gain compared to the third quarter of 2009. Although the LSI has trended higher since hitting a cyclical (and all-time) low during the second quarter of 2009, aggregate lighting equipment demand remains [...]