2024 Top 100 Importers & Exporters
Electronics
IMPORTS
1,635,996 TEUs
↓1.1 %
Change from 2022
↑3 %
5-year compound annual growth rate
Conair Curtis International Electrolux Element Electronics EM Solutions Inc GE Lighting Hewlett-Packard Newell Brands TTE Technology
Best Buy ’ s inventories were down 4 % year over year at the start of 2024 , she said . “ We remain confident that our industry will grow again after two years of declines ,” Barry said . “ This is simply a matter of the timing .”
That timing may depend on how low the consumer inflation rate drops , whether the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates and how quickly the housing market improves in 2024 , she said .
Best Buy expects to benefit over the next few years from upgrades and replacement cycles for the technology consumers bought early in the pandemic .
Spending on consumer electronics in 2020 and 2021 also created a larger installed base of products in consumer homes , Barry said . Still , Best Buy expects sales to be flat overall in 2024 , though the retailer believes sales will rise in the second half of the year .
New products and features such as AI capabilities also will help convince US consumers to open their wallets , and that could have an even larger impact on import demand than traditional replacement cycles .
Samsung ’ s latest smartphone line , the Galaxy S24 Ultra , comes with several built-in AI enabled features . Apple has incorporated AI into its wearable spatial computer Apple Vision Pro and is planning multiple additional AI-related announcements later this year .
Smartphones are among the top devices consumers are expected to upgrade in 2024 . Global smartphone shipments surged 11 % year over year in the first quarter , according to research firm Canalys .
“ Our industry will grow again after two years of declines . This is simply a matter of the timing .”
“ With the economy stabilizing , new product launches and strong promotional efforts , the market has rebounded ,” Canalys Analyst Le Xuan Chiew said .
Demand for new televisions is expected to grow by low single-digit percentages through 2026 , according to Circana . Even as screens get larger and pictures get sharper , prices are falling , at least on some models . That makes it more likely older TVs will be replaced in 2024 .
China ’ s share of electronics imports falls below 50 % for first time
Percentage share of US electronics imports by origin
TEU market share
US electronics imports powering up after stagnant 2022-23
Monthly containerized US electronics imports , in laden TEUs , with year-over-year percentage change
TEU volume
100 %
80 %
100 60 %
40 %
20 % 15 %
0 % L 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
China Vietnam South Korea Thailand Malaysia Other
Source : PIERS , S & P Global
140,000 120,000
10 %
100,000 ,
10 %
100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000
20 %
-40 0 % %
-10 %
-20 %
0 |
|
|
-30% |
|
Jan L2022
Apr
|
Jul
Jul , 2022
Oct
Jan 2023
Apr
|
Jul |
Oct
Jan 2024
Apr
|
Source : PIERS , S & P Global
TEU Year-over-year % change
Year-over-year % change
© 2024 S & P Global
Amid widespread efforts by US importers to reduce their reliance on China , electronics shippers continued to diversify their sourcing in 2023 .
Mainland China still accounted for 44.9 % of containerized US electronics imports last year , but that was a significant drop from its 63.8 % market share in 2018 and the first year in which China accounted for less than half of electronics imports , according to PIERS .
The biggest benefactor from more diversified sourcing has been Vietnam , which accounted for 15.1 % share of the US electronics imports market in 2023 , up from just 3.1 % in 2018 .
Thailand ’ s share rose to 6.2 % last year from 2.8 % in 2018 , while South Korea ’ s share increased to 6.1 % from 3.6 % and Malaysia ’ s share ticked up to 5.1 % from 3.4 % during the same period .
email : bill . cassidy @ spglobal . com
© 2024 S & P Global
L
40 Journal of Commerce | May 20 , 2024 www . joc . com