US Sourced 12.2% More Laptop Imports in July Than Year Earlier
July laptop and tablet imports to the U.S. showed sustained resilience despite tough comparisons with 2020, when most homes were hunkered down in their fourth full month of COVID-19 lockdowns, according to Census Bureau data accessed Sept. 13 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb portal. But smartphone imports trended in the opposite direction, with shipments declining by double digits from the two most important source countries, China and Vietnam.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
U.S. importers sourced 12.74 million laptops and tablets from all countries in July, up marginally from June but rising 12.2% from July 2020, DataWeb said. The average import had $430.04 in customs value, nearly 9% more than in June but down 0.7% from July 2020. China generated about 94% of the laptop and tablet unit imports to the U.S. in July DataWeb, said. It shipped 12.03 million devices here in the month, up 1% from June but up 17.5% from July 2020. The average Chinese import, at $427.95 in value, was 8.1% costlier than in June but 3.3% less expensive than a year earlier.
Vietnam sent about 469,000 laptops and tablets to the U.S. in July, 34.3% fewer than in July 2020, but Vietnamese devices were noticeably more expensive than in June 2021 or July 2020. The average import, at $319.71 in value, was 25.6% costlier than in June and up 64.4% from a year earlier. Vietnam generated just under 4% of laptop and tablet imports to the U.S. in July, compared with China’s 94%.
U.S. importers sourced 15.52 million smartphones from all countries in July, up 2% from June, but down 15% from a year earlier, DataWeb said. The average handset was valued at $281.39, down marginally from June, but up 15.2% from July 2020. China, with a 76% share, sent 11.79 million smartphones to the U.S. in July, 13.7% fewer year over year and 10.1% fewer than in June. The average Chinese import declined 3.2% from June to $266.44 but was up 1.3% from July 2020.
Vietnam generated 17.5% of smartphone unit imports to the U.S. in July, but its 2.71 million shipments were down 23.7% from a year earlier, DataWeb said. The average Vietnamese handset in July, $329.45 in value, was 74.5% costlier than in the same month a year earlier and $63 more expensive than its Chinese counterpart.
South Korea produced only 2.7% of smartphone unit imports to the U.S. in July, but its 431,000 handsets were up 127% from a year earlier, DataWeb said. South Korea was haven to the world’s most expensive smartphone imports to the U.S. Its average July handset import, valued at $639.34, was nearly 2.5 times more expensive than its Chinese counterpart.