US Chip Imports Slow in April as Asian Supply Lines Keep Moving
(Bloomberg) -- The value of US semiconductor imports fell 16% in April from the month prior, but manufacturers in Asia, America’s main supplier, still have reasons to be optimistic.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Elizabeth Holmes Objects to $250-a-Month Victim Payments After Prison
Americans Say They Need $2.2 Million to Be Considered Wealthy
This year through April, chip imports in the world’s largest economy have grown by more than 10% from a year earlier, as Asia continues to benefit from past US decisions to outsource chip production to cheaper locales. While the total value of US semiconductor imports fell to $4.7 billion, the lowest since July, Asia retained an 85% share of shipments.
The leaderboard in Asia continues to shift as companies have relocated factories across borders to address Western concerns over cost and the security of semiconductor supply chains given geopolitical tensions between the US and China. The US is also trying attract chipmakers to set up more facilities on American soil.
The top exporter, Malaysia, continued to lose share to regional competitors with a 20% drop from the previous month. It accounted for just a fifth of America’s imports through April, down from a third at this time last year. The total value of shipments from the Southeast Asian nation has dropped 30% year-to-date.
India’s year-to-date 37-fold jump in US semiconductor imports remains a focal point of how supply lines have shifted in the region’s chip trade with the US. Its year-to-date shipments are at two-thirds of what China is now sending, compared with less than 2% last year.
US imports from second-place Taiwan have increased 5% this year. South Korea has grown its shipments at 7.5%, with China and Japan both dropping.
Third- and fourth-place exporters, Vietnam and Thailand, have registered growth of 52% and 80% respectively. Upstart Cambodia continued its upward climb and was the only country on the leaderboard to see positive month-on-month growth in April, with a 5.6% increase.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
Layoffs and AI Are Changing Tech’s Once-Invincible Job Market
Google CEO Vows Not to Rush AI and Says Efficiency Drive Continues
Illumina’s Sudden CEO Exit Is Just One of Many Problems Facing DNA Company
A Saudi Airline Embraces Luxury to End Emirates and Qatar’s Gulf Dominance
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.