First-Half Laptop, Tablet Imports Soared Nearly 49%: DataWeb

Back-to-school retail merchandising preparations combined with persistent consumer demand induced by hybrid work and remote learning protocols to drive double-digit growth in second-quarter laptop and tablet imports to the U.S., reported the Census Bureau in data retrieved Friday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. U.S. importers sourced 36.49 million laptops and tablets from all countries in Q2, up 17.1% sequentially from Q1 and a 17.8% increase from the 30.98 million devices shipped here in the same 2020 quarter. Shipments to the U.S. soared 48.9% in 2021's first six months to 67.65 million. Year-over-year smartphone imports to the U.S. also increased, but by not nearly the same torrid pace as laptops and tablets. U.S. importers sourced 44.51 million handsets from all countries in Q2, about 0.5% fewer than in Q1, but up 10.8% from the 40.18 million devices shipped here in the 2020 quarter. First-half smartphone imports to the U.S. jumped 17.3% from a year earlier to 89.23 million handsets, said DataWeb.