Double-Digit Growth Recorded in April Laptop, Smartphone Imports

April imports to the U.S. of laptops, tablets and smartphones were flat or marginally lower compared with March, but double digits higher than in April 2020, the first full month of COVID-19 lockdowns, according to Census data accessed Wednesday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool.

The well-documented demand for work-from-home connectivity tools likely explains the import growth trends in laptops and tablets. Only twice since COVID-19 lockdowns began in late-March 2020 have monthly laptop and tablet unit imports to the U.S. dipped below 10 million devices, DataWeb shows. Smartphone imports are undeniably benefiting from the increasing mix of 5G-enabled devices, plus pent-up demand after consumers deferred new handset purchases for much of 2020. The 59.81 million smartphones shipped here in 2021's first four months were tracking 24.9% higher than the 47.89 million handsets imported to the U.S. in January-April a year earlier.

U.S. importers sourced 11.8 million laptops and tablets from all countries in April under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule’s 8471.30.01 subheading, down 0.9% sequentially from March but up 26.1% from April 2020, said DataWeb. Those shipments had $4.7 billion in customs value, down 0.4% from March but 9.3% higher year over year.

There were traces of commoditization in the laptops and tablets shipped here in April, said DataWeb, evidently despite the higher average value of Vietnamese product earmarked for mainstream consumers. The average device from all countries was $397.89, up marginally from the $393.18 average in March but 13.3% lower than the $459.01 average in April 2020.

China remained the dominant source country for laptop and tablet imports in April, said DataWeb. Its 92.1% unit share was roughly on par with those of March and April 2020. Chinese OEMs shipped 10.87 million devices to the U.S. in April, roughly flat with March but up 23% from April 2020, said DataWeb. Dollar growth to $4.34 billion also was roughly flat with March but was up 6.9% from a year earlier. The average Chinese device, worth $399.05 in April, also nosedived, plunging 14.6% lower than the $464.14 average a year earlier.

U.S. importers sourced 618,000 laptops and tablets from Vietnam in April, 19.5% fewer than in March but up a noteworthy 61.8% from April 2020, said DataWeb. Vietnam generated 5.2% of the unit imports in the category in April, down from 6.4% in March but up from 4.1% a year earlier. Vietnamese dollar volume of $148.83 million was down marginally from March but soared 105.4% from April 2020. That’s because the average Vietnamese device was worth $240.72, up 26.8% from the $189.87 average device a year earlier.

April smartphone imports to the U.S. from all countries under HTS 8517.12.00 reached 15.09 million handsets, down 3.2% from March but up 26.5% from a year earlier, said DataWeb. Dollar imports from all countries of $4.28 billion was up 5.9% from March and 39.9% higher than in April 2020. It’s plausible that the higher mix of 5G-enabled smartphones helped fuel the 10.3% year-over-year rise to $283.39 in the value of the average April import.

China generated 77.1% of April smartphone imports to the U.S., a marginal increase from April 2020 but 4 points lower than in March, said DataWeb. Chinese unit imports of 11.63 million handsets were down 8.1% from March but up 28.4% from a year earlier. Dollar growth outpaced unit growth, rising 36.8% from a year earlier to $3.53 billion because the average Chinese device, at $303.28, was 6.4% costlier than in April 2020.

Though the average Vietnamese handset, at $204.90 in April, was about a third less costly than its Chinese counterpart, Vietnamese smartphone production appears to be trending upmarket, said DataWeb. Vietnam shipped 2.7 million units here in April, generating 17.9% of all smartphone imports to the U.S. during the month. Unit growth was up 9.8% from March and 33.7% from April 2020. Dollar volume increased 28.1% from March to $552.67 million in April, 78% higher than a year earlier.