China’s share of U.S. imports has been declining sharply over the past six years. The all time high was 21.6% in 2017. The first four months of 2023 fell to 13.3%. That’s a 38% decline in import share over the past 6 years. If annualized at 13.3%, 2023 would be the lowest level since [...]

  LEDucation has put out a call-for-speakers for the 2024 conference. They are currently accepting speaking proposals through September 1, 2023, for the 2024 educational program. The 2024 Trade Show and Conference is scheduled for March 19-20 at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Virtual sessions will be offered the prior week, [...]

  SKYX Platform Corporation, the company producing SkyPlug, an alternative luminaire mounting system, has announced that Eric Jacobson has joined the company as Senior Product Standardization Advisor. Jacobson recently resigned as President and CEO of the American Lighting Association (ALA). Hiring Jacobson is the latest move by SKYX to achieve industry adoption of its alternative [...]

The ALA Engineering Committee recently released a guidance document designed to assist residential consumers in understanding the differences between socketed and integrated LED light fixtures. The document, created by members of the ALA Engineering Committee, is designed to assist consumers in navigating the purchase process, by explaining which factors are important to consider in socketed and integrated LED [...]

Venture capital funding of indoor farming companies dropped 91% in Q1 of 2023 compared with Q1 of 2022 (deal value). The deal count in the same time period dropped 70%, from 46 deals in Q1 2022 down to 14 deals in Q1 2023. Rising energy costs and rising interest rates are both hurting indoor farming [...]

In late April, Acuity Brands announced the discontinuation of all fluorescent and HID luminaires by December 31st, 2023. This isn’t terribly surprising given the recent laws to ban fluorescent and in some cases, HID lamps by Vermont, California, Canada, the EU, and the UK. More U.S. states are proposing to pass mercury lamp bans. This [...]

The National Retail Federation (NRF) released it’s annual State of Retail & the Consumer forecast. Here are the highlights: The retail sector is expected to grow 4-6% in 2023, to $5.13-$5.23 Trillion. 2022 saw 7% growth over 2021. 2023’s forecast is higher than pre-pandemic growth of 3.6% E-commerce sales expected to rise 10-12% in 2023, [...]

SKYX is the company that owns SkyPlug, a luminaire receptacle platform for ceilings, and has just acquired Belami, an e-commerce company that owns 64 lighting and home décor websites. Belami has $88 Million in revenue, and $4.3 Million in EBITDA, in 2022. SKYX is now claiming to own nearly half of all US lighting e-tail [...]

By Clifton Stanley Lemon How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? Answer: Does it have to be a light bulb? While this old joke lampoons the legendary persnickety design thinking personified by Steve Jobs and others, the response is quite valid. Who in the lighting industry today is asking this question or [...]