July TV Imports Soared 184% in Screen Sizes Under 35 Inches, DataWeb Says

July laptop and tablet unit imports to the U.S. continued their torrid growth from a year earlier, though July growth was flat sequentially from June, according to Census Bureau data accessed Sept. 6 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Shortages of laptop liquid crystal display (LCD) panels and central processing units (CPUs) threaten to impede sales as the supply chain buckles under the weight of sustained consumer demand for notebook PCs as “essential” work-from-home and remote-learning connectivity tools, market leaders Hewlett-Packard and Dell said during earnings calls in August.

TV import growth showed no signs of abating in July, with a nearly 63% unit increase from July 2019, DataWeb said. The stunning rise in smaller screen sizes was the biggest July takeaway, evidence of huge consumer demand for secondary and tertiary TV sets for the locked-down home. Though July import growth was also strong in the largest TV sizes, it was nowhere in the range of shipments of 30- to 35-inch sets that rocketed 184% higher from the same month in 2019. An NPD Group executive surmised that the July spike in imports of smaller screens will support planned Q4 promotions and holiday expectations around sustained demand for 32-inch sets, based on their unexpectedly high popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic began in mid-March.

U.S. importers sourced 11.3 million laptops and tablets from all countries in July under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 8471.30.01, DataWeb said. That was 1% fewer than in June, but 19.1% higher than in July 2019. July dollar imports were $4.89 billion, up 3.2% from June and up 12.7% from a year earlier. The average import was $433.09, up 4.3% from June, but 5.2% cheaper than in July 2019.

China was the source of 90.2% of laptop and tablet imports in July, virtually unchanged from its June share but four points shy of July 2019, DataWeb said. China lost ground to Vietnam, which was the source of 6.3% of July imports, compared with 3.9% a year earlier; year-on-year imports from China were up 14%, while Vietnamese shipments soared 94.5%. Vietnam was the world’s haven for commodity-priced connectivity tools in high demand during the pandemic, especially for remote learning. The average Chinese laptop and tablet in July was more than 2.2 times pricier than its Vietnamese counterpart. No other country of origin vied for meaningful share in the category.

In the TV supply chain, U.S. importers sourced 5.47 million sets under subheading 8528.72.64 in all sizes from all countries in July, up 11.9% from June and 62.8% higher than in July 2019, DataWeb said. Dollar TV imports were $1.18 billion, up 7.3% from June and up 25.9% from a year earlier. The average July TV import was worth $234.32, up 4.1% from June but 15.9% cheaper than in July 2019.

Mexico was the source of 52.3% of July TV imports to the U.S., 5.5 points higher than in June, when the Mexican supply chain was still recovering from COVID-19 disruptions. Mexico’s share was 44.3% to China’s 51.8% in July 2019, two months before the List 4A Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods chased much of the Chinese TV supply chain to Mexico. July TV imports from Mexico increased 24.9% from June and 91.9% from July 2019, DataWeb said. Mexico was the source of the world’s priciest TVs. Its average July import was valued at $319.66, compared with $138.43 for China and $129.91 for Vietnam.

China was the source of only 28.9% of July TV imports to the U.S., its shipments declining 14.1% from June and 9.2% from July 2019, DataWeb said. Vietnam was the source of 9.8% of TV imports, its unit volume soaring by 1,008.2% from July 2019, when it shipped fewer than 600 sets here. That’s partially because Vietnam was the source of 24.4% of July unit imports of HTS 8528.72.64.30 TVs with screen sizes between 30 and 35 inches, second only in that class to China’s 43%. Shipments of those sets were 19.3% of total TV imports in July, compared with only 11% in July 2019. Unit imports of that class of TVs were up 184% year over year.

Consulting firm NPD point-of-sale data showed unit sales of 32-inch TVs jumped 31% between March and August from the comparable 2019 period, Vice President-Technology Stephen Baker emailed Sept. 7. That mirrored the overall TV market's increase in that period, he said: “It appears likely that an increase in smaller screens being imported is more likely due to planned Q4 promotions and holiday expectations than it is around replacement of sales that have occurred in the last 6 months.”

July TV imports under subheading 8528.72.64.40 with screen sizes between 35 and 45 inches jumped 50.9% from a year earlier, to 1.21 million, for 22.1% of all TV imports to the U.S. in the month, DataWeb said. Mexico was the top country of origin for sets in that class, with 43% share, followed by China (33.3%), Vietnam (19.8%) and Taiwan (4.3%). Vietnam and Taiwan reached that stature after having shipped virtually no product here in July 2019.

Large-screen sets shipped to the U.S. under subheading 8528.72.64.60 with displays exceeding 45 inches were the largest bloc of July TV imports, with 54.7% share, DataWeb said. That compared with 60.1% in July 2019, before the recent incursion of smaller-screen goods eroded large-screen share. U.S. importers sourced 2.99 million large-screen sets from all countries in July -- still a robust 48% unit growth from a year earlier but well below the 184% growth rate for TVs with screen sizes between 30 and 35 inches.

Mexico was the source of 73.9% to China’s 18.4% of the largest-screen TV imports in July, compared with Mexico’s 57.9% to 41.1% July 2019 advantage over China in that class, DataWeb said. Mexico shipped 2.21 million large-screen TVs here in July, an 88.9% increase from a year earlier. Chinese shipments declined 33.8% year over year to slightly fewer than 550,000 sets. The average Mexican TV value, $368.54, was 18.3% cheaper than in July 2019. China’s average $222.91 was 12.3% lower than a year earlier.