Q1 Smartphone Display Shipments Fell 20% Sequentially on Trade War, IHS Says
Q1 global smartphone display shipments plunged 20 percent sequentially and are poised to decline again in the Q2 and Q3, “as the U.S.-China trade war worsens the wireless market’s woes,” reported IHS Markit Monday. Q1 shipments declined 9 percent year-over-year,…
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said IHS. With the smartphone business “already facing a number of headwinds” in Q1, the anticipated declines reflect “mounting concerns about the impact of the trade dispute on global wireless demand,” it said. The display business "serves as an early indicator of smartphone market trends” because it falls at the beginning of the supply chain, said IHS. “Right now, that indicator is flashing warning signs as smartphone OEMs and ODMs [Original Design Manufacturers] reduce their display orders. Although other factors are negatively affecting smartphone demand, supply-chain participants now are expressing specific concerns about the repercussions of the trade war.” Prices for smartphones would “rise across the board” if the administration makes good its threat to impose 25 percent List 4 tariffs on products shipped to the U.S. from China under the 8517.12.00 import subheading, said a CTA-commissioned study posted last week by the U.S. Trade Representative Office (see 1906180055).