IDC Forecasts Continued Drop in Global Smartphone Assembly Shipments Due to Trade War

A “pessimistic outlook” on the world economy from the U.S.-China trade war led to a 3.5 percent production drop in global worldwide smartphone assembly shipments in June, reported IDC Wednesday. More of the same is forecast for July and August: IDC expects smartphone original device manufacturer and electronics manufacturing services' assembly volume to shrink due to Samsung and Huawei lowering regional market targets, high inventory and the U.S.-China trade war, said analyst Sean Kao. Overall in Q2, worldwide smartphone assembly shipment volume grew 12 percent year on year to 332.6 million due largely to lower inventories in Q1 and increased competition, IDC said. Assembly shipment volume from Chinese smartphone ODMs and EMSes rose to 51.3 percent in Q2 from 40.7 percent in Q1, said Kao.