In an Unpredictable Economy, Standardized Lighting Controls Are Your Safest Bet By JEREMY LUDYJAN
In April at LightFair, many attendees noticed an unusual number of empty booths. A range of overseas lighting manufacturers from various countries had decided not to exhibit. The backdrop was likely uncertainty around potential U.S. tariffs, some threatened to reach as high as 145%, that created too much risk for companies already in or considering the U.S. market. While the specifics may change, the pattern is familiar. The lighting industry is increasingly shaped by forces outside its control: tariffs, inflation, pandemic aftershocks, shipping delays, labor costs, and geopolitical uncertainty. Together, these forces create a market where stability is scarce. For component makers, luminaire manufacturers, specifiers, building owners, and facility managers, this volatility complicates decision-making and raises the stakes for every investment in lighting systems. So, how do you plan in an era when the rules keep changing? The answer is not to chase the lowest bidder or double down on one supplier. It is about building resilience into systems from the start. Standardized, interoperable digital lighting controls, systems like DALI and other open standards, provide a clear path forward.
A Market Defined by Volatility The LightFair pullout is just one example of a larger trend. Over the past several years, the lighting industry has been hit from multiple directions.
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It started with tariffs. In 2018, steep U.S. duties on many Chinese goods, including lighting components, reshaped costs almost overnight. Manufacturers scrambled, shifting production to Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia, while some leaned into Mexico as a near-shoring option. At LightFair this year, exhibitors even highlighted new manufacturing locations on booth signage to reassure buyers. In 2020 came the pandemic. Global supply chains ground to a halt as factories closed, ports backed up, and containers became scarce. Projects stalled, not because of design issues, but because product could not move.