China Ceded Some 2019 Smartphone Share to Vietnam but Stayed Dominant, Imports Show
U.S. importers sourced 214.6 million smartphones from all countries last year, 1.7% fewer than in 2018, said Census Bureau figures accessed through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Vietnam gained stature in 2019 as an alternative country of origin to China as the Dec. 15 threat of 15% List 4B Section 301 tariffs on Chinese smartphones loomed for most of 2019's second half (see 1908130028).
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Chinese sourcing was down 5 percentage points from 2018 as a share of 2019 U.S. smartphone imports, said DataWeb. There was no abandoning China on the scale of the TV supply chain's mass departure for Mexico to escape List 4A tariff exposure on finished Chinese sets (see 2002090001). The Trump administration ultimately lifted the List 4B tariffs threat on smartphones and other consumer tech goods, less than 48 hours before they were to take effect (see 1912130042).
China sent 160.13 million smartphones to the U.S. last year, 7.9% fewer than in 2018, said DataWeb. Chinese handsets were 74.6% of 2019 imports from all countries, compared with 79.6% share in 2018. The average 2019 Chinese phone had $268.90 in customs value, 2% higher than in 2018.
Vietnam increasingly became a haven for sourcing of cheaper smartphones, said DataWeb. U.S. importers took delivery of 40.54 million smartphones from Vietnam in 2019, a 71.2% increase from a year earlier. Vietnam accounted for 18.9% of all smartphone imports to the U.S. last year, a gain of 8.1 percentage points from 2018. The average Vietnamese smartphone had $214.22 in customs value, 18.3% cheaper than in 2018, and 20% less than the average 2019 Chinese counterpart.
China and Vietnam together were responsible for 93.5% of all smartphone imports to the U.S. in 2019, said DataWeb. Small quantities from India, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand were the bulk of the remaining U.S. supply. Shipments from those countries collectively declined 5.2% last year to 4.07 million handsets, though imports from India increased 26.4% to 666,500.
Q4 smartphone unit imports to the U.S. from all countries declined 4.7% from Q4 a year earlier to 61.82 million but increased 14.9% sequentially from Q3, said DataWeb. Q4 Chinese shipments increased 21% from Q3 to 47.67 million handsets but were down 9% from 2018. China was 77.1% of Q4 smartphone imports to the U.S., compared with 80.7% a year earlier.
U.S. importers sourced 11.28 million smartphones from Vietnam in Q4, a 47.9% increase from 2018 but a 0.8% decline sequentially from Q3, said DataWeb. Vietnam provided 18.2% of Q4 smartphone imports to the U.S., compared with 11.7% share a year earlier.
Vietnamese smartphone imports to the U.S. trended significantly to the lower end in Q4, said DataWeb. The average Vietnamese import was worth $146.35 in the quarter, a 43.2% decline from Q4 a year earlier. The average Chinese phone, worth $307.60, was 52% costlier than its Vietnamese counterpart.
December smartphone unit imports to the U.S. from all countries declined 14.1% sequentially from November to 18.14 million and were down 0.1% from December 2018, said DataWeb. U.S. importers sourced 14.18 million units from China in December, 8.8% fewer than in November and 1.6% fewer than a year earlier. December imports from Vietnam declined 35.2% from November to 2.96 million but increased 37.8% from a year earlier.
Vietnam’s rise as a smartphone sourcing country was unmistakable from the DataWeb numbers but so was China’s ability to retain share, even with the List 4B tariff threat looming. China dipped to 73.7% of November smartphone imports to the U.S. from 79.5% in October as Vietnamese shipments surged in November to a 21.6% share from 16.7% in October. But China’s December share recovered to 78.2%, just 1.2 percentage points lower than in December 2018 when smartphone tariffs weren’t yet in the picture.