August TV Imports Trended Costlier, Especially in Smaller Sizes
Tough comparisons with August 2020, the fifth full month of COVID-19 lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, were evident in the double-digit year-over-year declines in August imports of TVs, smartphones and laptops and tablets, according to Census Bureau data accessed Oct. 11 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb portal.
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Month-over-month TV imports increased significantly from July in all screen sizes, especially in sets under 35 inches, likely a sign of stepped-up procurement activity as retailers try to build holiday inventory amid well-publicized port and supply chain bottlenecks. But that wasn't the trend in August smartphone or laptop and tablet imports, declines of which from July were well into the double digits.
U.S. importers sourced 4.5 million TVs in all sizes from all countries in August, DataWeb statistics said. Unit volume in August was up 19.6% from July but down 21% from August 2020, when just under 5.7 million sets entered the country. “I do think retailers have been bringing in inventory early,” Display Supply Chain Consultants President Bob O’Brien emailed. “It makes sense that the pull-forward is most pronounced in the small sizes, because those are more likely to be imports from Asia, as opposed to the larger sizes which usually are assembled in Mexico.”
August TV imports in screen sizes exceeding 45 inches reached 2.66 million sets, 12.5% fewer than in August 2020 and up 10.4% from July, according to DataWeb. The average large-screen import had $463 in customs value, up marginally from the $448.75 average in July but more than a third higher than the $343.94 average in August 2020.
It’s “not a big surprise” that average TV costs went up in all screen sizes, but especially the smaller screens imported from China and Vietnam, “because of the time lag between panel prices and set prices,” O’Brien said. “Panel prices peaked in June/July, but they were still going up in May.” August TV imports “represent” panels sold in May and June for assembly into finished sets later in the summer, he said. “I suspect that August may represent the peak prices or there will be only a very small increase in September before they start coming down. Panel prices have been falling rapidly in August & September, down 25% in those two months, and that should start to show by the time we hit Thanksgiving.”
Slightly more than a million TVs with screen sizes 35 to 45 inches entered the country in August, DataWeb said, increasing 19.1% from July but down 4.8% from August 2020, the smallest year-over-year decline in any screen classification. The average set was $226.41, up 2.8% month over month, but 52.3% higher than a year earlier.
Odd trends prevailed in August imports of TVs between 30 and 35 inches, DataWeb showed. U.S. importers sourced just shy of 694,000 sets in that screen classification. That volume was 65.9% more than the 418,000+ sets shipped here in July but down 44.7% from 1.25 million units entering the country in August 2020. Imports of 30- to 35-inch sets increased more significantly month over month than any other screen size, but their year-over-year decline was also the most profound. The average set, at $143.19, was 71.5% costlier than in August 2020 and had the highest year-over-year rate of increase.