High Panel Costs Sent 2021 TV Imports Topping $15B for First Time

TV imports to the U.S. were a $15.24 billion business in total 2021 customs value generated, up 19.6% from 2020, the first time annual TV imports topped $15 billion since Census began tracking TV shipments in 2007 under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule’s 8528.72.64 subheading, according to Census data accessed Sunday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb portal.

The milestone was due in large part to the record-high panel prices, plus other inflationary costs from component shortages and supply chain bottlenecks, that gripped the display industry mainly in the second quarter. The previous yearly high for TV imports was $13.54 billion in 2015. Year-over-year unit declines were recorded in all three major TV product groupings. The top two countries of origin, Mexico and China, shipped fewer sets here than in 2020, but shipments from No. 3 Vietnam increased by double digits year over year.

U.S. importers sourced 46.3 million TVs from all countries and in all screen sizes in 2021, 11.1% fewer than in 2020, said DataWeb. The average 2021 TV import had $329.03 in customs value, 34.6% costlier than a year earlier. Q4 TV imports of 12.94 million sets were down 13.9%, but their average customs value was up 36.4% from a year earlier to $353.48.

Display Supply Chain Consultants said the sharp uptick in panel costs that stunned the industry in 2021's first half began abating midsummer, then began dropping rapidly later in the year. DataWeb shows the sequential quarterly increases in average customs value peaked for the year at 14.5% in Q2. By Q4, the average value of imported TVs was up only 0.4% sequentially from Q3.

Mexico shipped 27.63 million TVs to the U.S. in 2021, increasing its share to 59.7% from 53.8% a year earlier, despite its 1.4% decline in unit volume, said DataWeb. The average Mexican set was worth $421.33 in 2021, up 27.8% from 2020.

China’s share of 2021 TV imports to the U.S. declined 9.3 points to 19.8%, the result of tough comparisons with 2020, when China abruptly became the go-to country for its ability to rapidly meet import demand fueled by the first of the COVID-19 lockdowns. China shipped 9.16 million sets to the U.S. in 2021, said DataWeb, 43.2% fewer than in the pandemic’s first year. The average Chinese set in 2021 climbed 39.9% in value from a year earlier to $194.44.

Vietnam had 10.6% share of TV imports to the U.S. in 2021, up two points from 2020, as its unit volume increased 10.3% to 4.93 million sets, said DataWeb. DSCC and other analysts attribute Vietnam's rise to the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods forcing U.S. importers to locate alternative sourcing of TVs under 45 inches.

The average Vietnamese set, worth $167.27 in 2021, was 36.5% costlier than its year-earlier counterpart. Vietnam’s move upmarket was even more dramatic in Q4, when the average set, worth $184.59, was 66.1% more expensive than in 2020's Q4. Vietnam’s 24% quarterly unit increase to 1.55 million sets was a standout among countries of origin, as unit volume from China and Mexico declined 44.6% and 10.4%, respectively.

TV imports from all countries with screen sizes exceeding 45 inches (HTS 8528.72.64.60) declined 8.1% in 2021 to 26.62 million sets with an average value of $448.07, up 29.2% from a year earlier, said DataWeb. TV import units with screen sizes between 35 and 45 inches (HTS 8528.72.64.40) declined 4.6% year over year to 10.7 million sets with an average value 39% higher at $207.11.

The biggest unit declines, coupled with the highest increases in average value, were in TV imports with screen sizes between 30 and 35 inches (HTS 8528.72.64.30). U.S. importers sourced 7.17 million of those sets from all countries in 2021, 27.7% fewer than in 2020, with an average value, $127.80, that was 44% higher.