Affected by the new tariff policy, two North American lighting companies announced price increases

On April 2, US President Trump announced that he would impose a 10% "base tariff" on all countries. The tariff will take effect at 0:01 a.m. Eastern Time on April 5. In addition, Trump will impose personalized higher "reciprocal tariffs" on countries with the largest U.S. trade deficits. The tariffs will take effect at 0:01 a.m. Eastern Time on April 9.

It is reported that this is the largest new tariff policy announced by Trump after taking office in January this year, targeting almost all U.S. trading partners, including "reciprocal tariffs" of up to 34% on Chinese imports.

With the release of the latest US tariff policy, North American lighting manufacturers Acuity Brands and RAB Lighting immediately announced an increase in the prices of related lighting products.

Acuity Brands announces second price increase on lighting products

According to foreign media reports, on April 3, North American lighting manufacturer Acuity Brands issued a second price adjustment letter to customers and channel partners.

Acuity Brands said it announced the price changes a few weeks ago and will take effect on March 31, 2025. However, due to the continuous changes in tariff policies, the company will conduct a second round of price adjustments.

Source: edisonreport.com

Effective April 7, 2025, Acuity Brands will implement additional price increases on certain lighting and electronic products. For orders that are shipped immediately at the current price, the latest order acceptance date is April 4, 2025.

Orders received and confirmed on or after April 7th will be invoiced at the new price. Orders received and confirmed before April 7 but shipped on or after April 7 will be re-reviewed and updated prices may apply.

In a recent investor conference call, Neil Ashe, CEO of Acuity Brands, talked about the latest tariff policy. He said that the company has quickly taken appropriate actions after learning about the latest tariff policy. It is not yet clear how long the tariff policy will be implemented, but the company will make corresponding adjustments based on U.S. government policies.

Neil Ashe mentioned that many companies in the industry have previously transferred relevant production from China to Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries in order to avoid potential tariff risks. Acuity Brand s is also carrying out related operations, but Acuity Brands is larger and its business is more dispersed, so the related dynamics are slower. In addition, Neil Ashe also mentioned that currently about 20% of the company's products are made in the United States.

Data shows that Acuity Brands is a well-known lighting manufacturer in North America and occupies an important position in the global lighting market. Currently, Acuity Brands' business is mainly divided into two major parts: lighting and lighting control (ABL) and Intelligent Space Group (ISG), covering commercial, residential, industrial and agricultural lighting fields, as well as smart building solutions and other businesses.

While announcing a second increase in product prices, Acuity Brands also announced its results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 (as of February 28, 2025).

Acuity Brands CEO said that the company’s performance in the second quarter was stable, achieving net sales growth, expanding adjusted operating profit and profit margin, and improving adjusted earnings per share. Dilute earnings.

Specifically, in the second quarter, Acuity Brands achieved net sales of US$1 billion (approximately RMB 6.5 billion), a year-on-year increase of 11.1%; operating profit was US$110 million, a year-on-year decrease of 7%; adjusted operating profit was US$163 million, an increase of 16% from the previous year; adjusted diluted earnings per share increased to US$3.73, an increase of 10% from the previous year.

The lighting and lighting control (ABL) business unit experienced a slight decline in sales, achieving net sales of US$840.6 million, a year-on-year decrease of 0.3%; operating profit of US$130.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%; adjusted operating profit rose to US$141.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 3.6%. Adjusted profit margin rose to 16.8%, an increase of 60 basis points year-on-year.

In addition, the Intelligent Space (AIS) department performed well, achieving net sales of US$171.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 152%. This was mainly due to the company’s acquisition of QSC Enterprises, which made the AIS department Gate achieved revenue of $95.1 million. In addition, the division's adjusted operating profit doubled to $32 million; however, AIS's GAAP profit margin declined due to increases in amortization and acquisition costs.

Affected by tariffs, RAB Lighting announced price increases for lighting products

RAB Lighting, an American lighting equipment company, also announced a price adjustment letter.

Source: edisonreport.com

RAB Lighting stated that the latest tariff policy issued by the U.S. government has had a significant impact on the company's supply chain costs, which is beyond the scope of the company's ability to fully bear it. Therefore, the company announced that it will adjust product prices starting from May 3, 2025. The specific increase will vary depending on the product and the impact of tariffs. Orders submitted and scheduled for immediate shipment on or before May 3rd will be invoiced at the current price. New pricing information will be released via spreadsheets and distributor portals on April 18.

Information shows that RAB Lighting specializes in the production of energy-saving sensors and outdoor lighting equipment while providing indoor and outdoor lighting solutions.

Summary

The new tariff policy is having a negative impact on domestic LED lighting manufacturers in the United States. Since China is a major global producer of key LED lighting components such as LED chips and drivers, the increase in tariffs further increases production costs for U.S. lighting manufacturers.

Therefore, the new U.S. tariff policy will not only affect the subsequent exports of Chinese LED lighting to the United States, but also bring uncertain development risks to local U.S. lighting manufacturers. It remains to be seen what impact the new tariff policy will have on the global LED lighting industry in the future.