US Imported 12.4% Fewer Smartphones in Q2 Than in Same 2019 Quarter
Second quarter smartphone imports to the U.S. increased by double digits sequentially from Q1, clear evidence of the Chinese supply chain’s recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels after the pandemic brought factories to a halt for most of February and into March. But the quarter-to-quarter increase masked subdued smartphone demand attributable to the pandemic’s decline in consumer spending.
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U.S. importers sourced 40.27 million smartphones from all countries in Q2, according to new Census Bureau data accessed Aug. 16 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Unit imports in the quarter were up 12% from Q1 but down 12.4% from the 2019 same quarter. Smartphone imports in Q2 were valued at $9.71 billion, a 4.7% increase from Q1 but down 13% from the 2019 same quarter. The average Q2 smartphone import was worth $241.29, about flat with the $242.95 average in the 2019 same quarter but 6.3% cheaper than in Q1.
China was the source of 75.6% of smartphone unit imports to the U.S. in the second quarter, a clear sign of its rebound from the factory shutdowns that reduced China’s share to 66.4% in Q1, DataWeb said. China’s Q2 share virtually matched its 75.7% pre-COVID-19 contribution in 2019's second quarter. U.S. importers sourced 30.44 million smartphones from China in Q2, 27.4% more units than in Q1 but 12.6% fewer than in the 2019 second quarter. China remained the country of origin for the world’s most expensive smartphones. Its average handset in the quarter was valued at $262.93, 7.1% cheaper than in Q1 but 9.3% higher than the $240.55 average in Q2 2019.
Vietnam remained a country of secondary importance to U.S. smartphone imports in Q2, though in a diminished role from Q1 with the recovery of China’s supply chain, DataWeb said. Vietnamese shipments to the U.S. came to 7.24 million handsets, 18% of all smartphone imports, down from its 24.8% share in Q1. Unit imports were down 18.8% from Q1 and 2.6% lower than in Q2 2019. Vietnam increasingly is a haven for entry-level smartphones at scale. Its average Q2 handset was valued at $162.03, nearly 19% cheaper than in Q1 and 27.2% lower than in the 2019 second quarter.
Even cheaper than Vietnam's shipments were smartphone imports from India, but at much lower volume, DataWeb said. The average Q2 Indian import was valued at $132.53, more than 18% less expensive than its Vietnamese counterpart and roughly half the value of the average Chinese import. U.S. importers sourced 1.05 million phones from India, just under 3% of all smartphone imports to the U.S. in Q2. India shipped fewer than 145,000 smartphones to the U.S. in the second quarter of 2019.