Q1 US Smartphone Imports From China and Vietnam Slip

Q1 smartphone imports to the U.S. declined 22% sequentially to 44.72 million handsets, up 24% from a year earlier, per Census data accessed Saturday through the International Trade Commission. Chinese smartphone shipments of 36.59 million handsets were down 24% from Q4 but 53% higher than Q1 2020, when China generated 66.4% amid COVID-19's lower factory utilization. China’s Q1 smartphone share was a more customary 82%, down slightly from 84.3% in Q4. Vietnam shipped 6.55 million smartphones to the U.S. in Q1, 8.4% fewer than in Q4, and 26% fewer than in Q1 2020. Vietnam as a haven for low-end smartphones is likely to continue ceding share to China, which owns the market in premium handset production, including 5G-enabled devices.