Desktop Monitor Imports Soared in May at Nearly 4 Times the Growth of Laptops
May PC monitor imports soared from April at a rate nearly four times that of laptops and tablets, the connectivity tools most commonly associated with COVID-19 stay-at-home mandates, according to Census Bureau figures accessed July 26 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb. May brought the highest monthly unit imports of monitors in 10 months.
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The one-month spike in May monitor imports as much of the U.S. remained in lockdown came amid surging demand in videoconferencing adoption. U.S. importers sourced 4.16 million monitors from all countries in May, a 45.2% increase from the 2.86 million shipped here in April, DataWeb information showed. May laptop and tablet imports, in comparison, increased 10.8% from April. May monitor shipments were 41% higher than in May 2019, and were the largest monthly volume of desktop monitors since 4.77 million were shipped here in July 2019.
Commodity was the watchword for monitor imports in May, as dollar growth lagged significantly behind the unit increases month over month and year over year, DataWeb showed. Dollar imports were $560.08 million, up 30.8% from April and up 14.9% from May 2019. Average value took a sharp turn toward the low end in May, declining 9.9% from April to $134.68 and down 18.4% from May 2019. Laptop and tablet imports tracked a similar path in May.
China was the source of 95.6% of all May monitor imports to the U.S., DataWeb said. Chinese imports increased 46.2% from April to 3.97 million and were up 42% from May 2019. The average value of a Chinese monitor, $124.35, was 5.7% lower than in April and 17.3% lower than in May 2019.
Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam also contributed to U.S. monitor supply in May, but on a vastly smaller scale than China, DataWeb said. U.S. importers sourced 48,200 monitors from Mexico in May, a 458.1% increase from April, when COVID-19 forced many factories into a government-ordered lockdown. Mexico shipped 56,100 monitors to the U.S. in May 2019. The average Mexican monitor imported in May was valued at $234.40, about 74% more expensive than average imports from all countries and 189% more costly than the average Chinese monitor.