Q3 Laptop, Tablet Imports Fell 5.1%; Smartphones Up 1.7%

U.S. importers sourced 35.86 million laptops and tablets from all countries in Q3, 5.1% fewer than in the 2020 quarter, and down 4.7% sequentially from Q2, according to Census Bureau data accessed Tuesday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Laptop and tablet imports for 2021's first nine months grew 24.7% from a year earlier to 102.51 million, largely on trends earlier in 2021, when COVID-19 restrictions were still fueling sustained demand for remote work and learning connectivity tools.

Q3 laptop and tablet imports from China reached 32.44 million devices (90.5% of total shipments), down 2.5% from a year earlier and 4.4% fewer sequentially than in Q2, said DataWeb. Chinese shipments to the U.S. soared 27.2% in the first nine months to 94.82 million (92.4% of total imports).

Vietnamese laptop and tablet imports to the U.S. plummeted 37.9% in Q3 from a year earlier to 1.51 million devices (4.2% of the total) and were down 11.7% sequentially from Q2, said DataWeb. Spiking COVID-19 infections and low vaccination rates forced the Hanoi government to impose strict factory shutdowns for much of September. Despite Q3's sharp decline, Vietnam shipped 4.97 million laptops and tablets (4.8% of the total) to the U.S. in the first nine months, up 3.8% from a year earlier.

U.S. importers sourced 48.96 million smartphones from all countries in the third quarter, up 1.7% from 2020 and 10% higher sequentially from Q2, said DataWeb. Smartphone imports increased 11.2% in the first nine months to 138.19 million compared with the same 2020 period.

Q3 smartphone shipments from China reached 38.77 million handsets (79.2% of total imports), up 9.8% from a year earlier and 8.2% higher sequentially from Q2, said DataWeb. Year-to-date shipments from China grew 24.2% to 111.191 million handsets (80.5% of the total).

Vietnam shipped 7.88 million smartphones (16.1% of total imports) to the U.S. in Q3, down 24.4% from the 2020 quarter, but up 20.3% sequentially from Q2. Vietnamese smartphone imports to the U.S. for the first nine months declined 20.9% to 20.98 million handsets (15.2% of total shipments).