Pandemic's Stay-at-Home Mandates Spurred 25.7% Rise in May Laptop, Tablet Imports
COVID-19 lockdowns sparked a surge in laptop and tablet imports to the U.S. in May, according to Census Bureau data accessed July 10 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. The mainstreaming of laptops and tablets was evident in their increasing commoditization as the pandemic progressed.
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U.S. importers sourced 10.37 million laptops and tablets from all countries in May, up 10.8% from April and up 21% from May 2019, DataWeb information said. The May shipments were worth $4.58 billion in customs value, a 6.5% increase from April and up 25.7% from the same 2019 month.
Laptops and tablets imported from all countries in May were worth $441.22 in average customs value, DataWeb said. That was down 3.9% from April and down 14.3% from March, when most of the U.S. lockdowns began.
China remained the dominant supplier of laptops and tablets to the U.S. in May, DataWeb said. Shipments from China were up 10.4% in May from April and were 22.8% higher than in May 2019. China was the source of 92.6% of all laptop and tablet imports to the U.S., virtually unchanged from April, and up slightly from its 91.2% share in May 2019.
China’s robustness in April and May was clear evidence of the return of Chinese production to pre-COVID-19 levels, DataWeb showed. Lockdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic sent Chinese laptop and tablet imports in February tumbling to their lowest monthly volume since May 2009 (see 2004060042).
Stay-at-home mandates spurred global shipments of “traditional” PCs to an 11.2% year-over-year increase in Q2 to 72.3 million units, International Data Corporation reported July 9. “As restrictions around the world tightened in the first few weeks of the quarter, demand for notebooks continued to grow to maintain continuity of business and schooling for many communities.”
Supply-chain “logistics issues” plagued the PC industry early in Q2, but the cost and frequency of air and sea freight “inched closer” to pre-COVID-19 levels as the quarter progressed, IDC said. PC production also ramped up, giving retailers “ample supply” and the ability to “fulfill the surge in demand,” it said.
Work-from-home and remote-learning mandates sparked demand growth that “surpassed previous expectations,” IDC said. The pandemic is returning the PC to “the center of consumers' tech portfolio,” it said. “What remains to be seen is if this demand and high level of usage continues during a recession and into the post-COVID world since budgets are shrinking while schools and workplaces reopen.”