Triple-Digit Laptop Growth, Heavy TV Commoditization Highlight Q2 Imports
High demand for telework and remote-learning connectivity tools sent Q2 laptop and tablet imports soaring by triple digits from Q1, according to new Census Bureau data accessed Aug. 9 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Lockdown-induced TV import growth also was robust in the quarter, but intense commoditization was the story there, even in the largest screen sizes.
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U.S. importers in Q2 sourced 31.15 million notebooks and tablets under subheading 8471.30.01 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, DataWeb information said. That was a 116% sequential increase from Q1 and up 15% from the 2019 same quarter. Dollar imports were $31.15 billion, a 98.4% increase from Q1 and up 23.5% year over year. The average import, $437.02, was 8.2% cheaper than in Q1, but up 7.5% from the 2019 second quarter.
China was the overwhelmingly dominant country of origin for laptops and tablets in Q2. Its 28.61 million units were 91.8% of all U.S.-bound shipments and up 124.7% from Q1, when China was starting to rebound from COVID-19 factory shutdowns and supply chain disruptions after the Lunar New Year holiday. The average Chinese import in the quarter was valued at $444.48, which is 8.9% cheaper than in Q1 but up 7.6% from Q2 2019.
Vietnamese imports were 4.9% of all U.S.-bound laptop and tablet shipments in the quarter, according to DataWeb. Its share dipped from 5.8% in Q1, though unit volume climbed 83.5% sequentially to 1.53 million, testament to China’s strong dominance in Q2. Vietnam remained the world’s haven for commodity-priced goods. The average Vietnamese device was $187.28, a 2.8% increase from Q1 and 11% higher than in the 2019 second quarter, but nearly 60% cheaper than its Chinese counterpart.
Q2 TV unit imports to the U.S. under subheading 8528.72.64 were 11.54 million sets, up 45.7% from Q1 and a 32.9% increase from Q2 2019,DataWeb said. Dollar volume was up 19.3% from Q1 but down 6.6% from a year earlier. The average TV import was $219.59, 17.8% cheaper than in Q1 and 29.8% less than in the 2019 same quarter. DataWeb keeps TV import records dating to 2007, and International Trade Today couldn’t find a lower quarterly average.
Mexico’s diminished role in the quarter as a key supplier of premium TVs was one factor in the increased commoditization as the country grappled with COVID-19 shutdowns and disruptions for much of April. U.S. importers sourced 5.08 million Mexican TVs in Q2, 4.9% fewer than in Q1 but up 25.4% from the 2019 second quarter. Mexico was the source of 44% of all TV imports to the U.S. in Q2, down a remarkable 23.1 percentage points from Q1, and about on par with its 46.7% share in the 2019 quarter, months before the Section 301 tariffs began chasing TV production from China to Mexico. The average Mexican set was $320.20, about flat with Q1 but down 26.3% from a year earlier.
China was the source of 38.6% of TV imports to the U.S. in Q2, more than double its 17.8% Q1 share, DataWeb said. Chinese TV unit volume of 4.46 million sets was 201.4% higher than in Q1 and up 5% from Q2 2019. The average Chinese TV was valued at $137.39, down 17.1% from Q1 and representing a 34.4% decline from a year earlier.
Even Vietnam, which contributed 10.7% of all TV imports to the U.S. in the quarter, had a higher average value at $140.70. Vietnam has had its ups and downs as a country of origin for TV supply. The 1.24 million sets it shipped to the U.S. in Q2 were up 244.4% from Q1, when it was 4.5% of TV imports to the U.S. It shipped fewer than 4,000 sets to the U.S. in the 2019 second quarter.
Extreme commoditization also touched Q2 TV imports in the largest screen sizes, DataWeb information showed. The average value of a TV import with screen size larger than 45 inches was $313.61, down 14.2% from Q1 and a 26.3% decline from the 2019 second quarter. Census began tracking large-screen TV imports under subheading 8528.72.64.60 in 2016.
Unit imports of large-screen TVs reached 6.14 million sets in Q2, up 31% from Q1 and up 21% from Q2 2019, DataWeb showed. Large-screen sets were 53.2% of all TV imports to the U.S. in the quarter, down from 58.5% in Q1 and from 58.4% a year earlier.
Mexico shipped 3.79 million large-screen sets here in Q2, up 5% from Q1 and 18.8% higher than in the second quarter of 2019, DataWeb information said. The average Mexican TV was valued at $379.45, 5.9% lower than in Q1 and a 24.7% decline from a year earlier. It was the first time in any quarter that the average Mexican set slipped below $400. Mexico’s share of large-screen TV imports slipped to 61.7% from 77.6% in Q1 and was about on par with its pre-tariff 62.9% share in the 2019 second quarter.
China was the source of 30.3% of large-screen TV imports to the U.S. in the quarter, nearly quadruple its 7.7% Q1 share, DataWeb said. U.S. importers sourced 1.86 million large-screen sets from China in Q2, up 204.9% from Q1 and up 5% from a year earlier. The average value of one of those sets, at $197.40, was down 20.2% from Q1 and was 31.9% lower than in the 2019 second quarter. ITT searched DataWeb records dating to 2016 and found no previous quarter in which the average Chinese large-screen TV fell below $200.