From Stephen Spivey, senior industry analyst with Frost & Sullivan's Automotive & Transportation team

Rising sales of pickups and sport-utility vehicles is good news for suppliers of auxiliary lighting components, which have suffered heavily through the current economic recession.

The auxiliary lighting components aftermarket includes fog lights, driving lights, offroad lights and other non-standard automotive lamps, as well as replacement bulbs. Consumers purchase auxiliary lighting to improve the appearance of their vehicle or to make it more functional for camping, rock crawling and other recreational sports. Commercial tradesmen also purchase auxiliary lighting for installation on pickup trucks used in construction, plumbing and electrical service. They are often discretionary purchases that are more vulnerable to general economic conditions than other lighting components.

Frost & Sullivan estimates 2011 manufacturer-level revenues at $30.5 million for the United States and Canada. Forecasts call for incremental growth of 2%-3% annually over the next 3-5 years.

Sales plummeted approximately 16% in 2008 as high gasoline prices caused consumers to stop buying pickup trucks and SUVs, which are more commonly outfitted with auxiliary lighting than are small cars. The market declined another 5% in 2009 and was off about 1% last year. However, rebounding sales this year of F-series pickups, as well as Silverados, Rams, Tundras and Jeep Wranglers is a good sign for manufacturers and distributors serving this market.

Through August this year, sales of Wrangler are up 26% over last year. Ram sales are up 24%, while Silverado sales are up 8% and F-150s are up 7%. All rank among the most commonly outfitted models for auxiliary lighting.

In addition to new truck sales, aftermarket demand is also impacted by which lighting components are offered as standard or optional equipment on current and future vehicles. The overall trend is for automakers to include more auxiliary lighting on each vehicle rather than less. However, that could change in upcoming model years as automakers shift their focus to cost and weight savings in place of differentiation, opening the door to non-OEM suppliers to fill the void.

For many enthusiasts, vehicle lighting is like jewelry. For the first time in nearly five years, market participants have reason to be hopeful.