Vietnam’s Supply Chain Role Escalating as Tariffs Scare Looms, DataWeb Shows

Nearly a quarter of January-November TV imports to the U.S. in that class of screens originated from Vietnam, up from only a 4.2% in that segment a year earlier, said DataWeb. Other examples of Vietnamese supply-chain growth: U.S. importers sourced about a fifth of all smartphones from Vietnam in the year through November, up slightly from a year earlier; and though Vietnam accounts for much lower volumes than China of laptop and tablet imports to the U.S., its roughly 5% share is steady and inching upward.

November TV imports to the U.S. in all screen sizes and from all countries retreated somewhat from their torrid October growth pace but were significantly higher than their 2019 comparisons, said DataWeb. U.S. importers sourced 5.03 million sets in November, 20.5% fewer than in October but 37.4% more than in November 2019. TV dollar imports were down 20% sequentially for the month but up 11% year on year.

The average November set, with $262.57 in customs value, was marginally more expensive than in October but 20.4% cheaper than in November 2019, reflecting the bigger mix of smaller-screen TVs than a year earlier. TV imports for the first 11 months of 2020 were 48.44 million sets, 29.4% higher than the same 2019 period.

Mexico generated the clear majority of TV imports to the U.S. in November, said DataWeb. Its share held steady at 55.7%, unchanged from a year earlier, despite the 25.4% unit decline sequentially from October. About three in every 10 TVs imported to the U.S. came from China in November. The 1.52 million Chinese-sourced sets for the month were 16.9% fewer than in October but up 52% year on year.

Vietnam's TV Share Up Sevenfold

Vietnam's growth was the big story in the TV supply chain for November and for the year’s first 11 months. U.S. importers sourced 471,000 sets from Vietnam in the month, raising its share to 9.4% of all November TV imports to the U.S. from 7.8% in October and 1.3% in November 2019, said DataWeb. Its monthly volume was up 745.8% from the same 2019 month, when Vietnam shipped only 49,300 sets here. Vietnam accounted for 8.6% of the 48.44 million TVs imported to the U.S. in January-November, compared with 0.6% in the same 2019 period.

TV imports from all countries for the first 11 months arrived in the U.S. with much smaller average screen sizes than in January-November 2019, though the largest screens maintained majority share, albeit by a bit fewer points than a year earlier, said DataWeb. U.S. importers sourced 27.01 million sets classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule’s HTS 8528.72.64.60 subheading for TVs with screen sizes over 45 inches. Unit imports in that class were up 20.3% from 2019's first 11 months, but their share of total TV imports declined to 55.8% from 60%.

January-November TV imports in HTS 8528.72.64.40 -- sets with 35- to 45-inch screen sizes -- increased 29.7%, to 10.42 million, and maintained their 21.5% share of all imports in all sizes from all countries, said DataWeb. HTS 8528.72.64.30 goods with 30- to 35-inch screen sizes were 2020's biggest success story through the year’s first 11 months. Shipments were up 76.1% from a year earlier, to 9.35 million TVs.

"Definitely have seen a lot of small screen volumes in Q4," with 32-inch TV models in the sweet spot, emailed Stephen Baker, NPD vice president-industry analysis. He speculated many consumers are replacing "a lot of old" 32-inch sets with no smart connectivity that they owned since well before the pandemic. "We aren't picking up any increase in the installed base in terms of volumes" or sets per household, he said. "So should mostly be replacements and attrition."

HTS 8528.72.64.30 sets were nearly a fifth (19.3%) of all TV imports to the U.S. in January-November, up from 14.2% in the same 2019 period. Vietnam generated 23.6% of all smaller-screen TV imports in the 11 months in the HTS 8528.72.64.30 class, compared with 4.2% in January-November 2019, a nearly sixfold percentage-point increase in a single year.

U.S. importers sourced 1.13 million TVs in the 30- to 35-inch class of HTS 8528.72.64.30 goods in November, up 7.5% from October and a 189.2% increase from November 2019, said DataWeb. China generated 54% of TV imports in that class in November, roughly the same as in October and the same 2019 month.

Mexico generated about 30% of the HTS 8528.72.64.30 imports to the U.S. in November 2019, but its share fell by more than half to 14.3% a year later, said DataWeb. Vietnam was the big beneficiary in Mexico's decline. Its 256,400 November imports equaled 22.7% share in that class, not quite a doubling of its 12.5% share in November 2019. Unit shipments of HTS 8528.72.64.30 goods from Vietnam were up 420.1% from a year earlier.

Impact of iPhone 12 Plainly Visible

November smartphone imports to the U.S. from all countries reached 21.44 million handsets, up 22.6% from October and 1.6% from 2019, said DataWeb. The iPhone 12's impact was plainly evident in China’s growing share as a country of origin and the shift upmarket in average customs value. Dollar imports were up 40.6% from October to $7.34 billion and were 36.2% higher year on year. The average November smartphone import, worth $342.41, was 14.7% costlier than in October and 34.2% more expensive than in November 2019.

Chinese smartphone imports to the U.S. were 18.28 million in November, up 26% from October and 17.5% higher year on year, said DataWeb. The average Chinese phone, $367.30, was 17.3% costlier than in October and 27.2% more expensive than in November 2019. China generated 85.3% of all November smartphone imports to the U.S., growing its share by 2.3 percentage points from October and by 11.6 points from November 2019. Apple is known to be sourcing the iPhone 12 from Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory in China's Henan province.

The influx of iPhone 12s to the U.S. from China put a dent in Vietnam’s smartphone output for November, said DataWeb. Vietnam shipped 2.6 million smartphones here in November, up 7.9% from October but 43% fewer year on year. The average Vietnamese phone, $187.87 in November, was 16.6% cheaper than in October but 23.8% more expensive than in 2019. Vietnam’s share of smartphone imports to the U.S. slipped to 12.1% in November from 13.8% in October and 21.6% in November 2019. But Vietnam generated 19.3% of the 163.3 million smartphones imported January-November, up slightly from 19.1% in the same 2019 period.

Growth in laptops and tablets imported to the U.S. under the HTS 8471.30.01 subheading slowed noticeably in November from the torrid pandemic pace in March-October but was still double digits ahead of 2019, said DataWeb. U.S. importers sourced 13.33 million HTS 8471.30.01 goods in November, 15.1% fewer than in October, 20.4% more year on year. Dollar imports of $5 billion were down 12.3% from October, up 20% from November 2019. Their average value of $375.41 was steady, compared with $363.36 in October and $361.49 a year earlier.

China grew its share of laptop and tablet unit imports to 91.8% in November from 90.4% a year earlier, via its 22.3% year-on-year increase to 12.24 million devices, said DataWeb. Vietnam shipped 643,500 units here in November, 16.8% fewer than in October but 4.9% more than a year earlier. Its share slipped to 4.8% of all laptop and tablet imports, from 4.9% in October and 5.5% in November 2019.

Despite Vietnam’s November setback, the country produced 5.6% of the 111.3 million laptops and tablets imported to the U.S. from all countries in January-November, up from 5.1% in 2019, said DataWeb. Vietnam’s move upmarket was another noticeable November trend. The average Vietnamese device, worth $228.42, was nearly 36% more expensive than its November 2019 counterpart.