US Sales for Inkjet Photo Printers by Country in 2010

Aug 23, 2010
Daniel Workman

Inkjet Photo Printers or Digital Camera Printer - Aka (Wikimedia Commons)

Sales of inkjet photo printers jumped 27.5% during the first 6 months of 2010, with America importing far more inkjet printers than it exports.

Inkjet printers are remarkably inexpensive these days, for color or black and white models.

However, inkjet printers can come with hidden costs. Most inkjet printer makers generate a big part of their revenues from selling ink refill cartridges.

Many inkjet products are designed to be photo printers, producing high quality images that require a lot of toner per page.

Consumers who print a lot of text-intensive drafts are probably better off buying laser printers. In general, laser printer owners will be able to produce a lot more printed pages and faster. They will also spend less on print cartridges.

Still, inkjet printers offer convenience to graphic designers, photographers and even writers who need a printer for occasional small print jobs.

The following analysis compares U.S. import and export sales of inkjet printers from January to June 2010 versus the first 6 months of 2009.

The Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code for inkjet printers is 8443.32.10.40.

Sources of Imported Inkjet Printers by Country

During the first half of 2010, the value of inkjet printers imported into the United States rose 27.5% to US$334.7 million from $262.5 million for the first 6 months of 2009.

The following top 10 countries generated 96% of import sales for inkjet printers so far in 2010.

China … US$123.5 million, up 276.1% (36.9% of total import sales as of June 2010)
Japan … $67.6 million, up 44.3% (20.2% of total)
Malaysia … $61 million, down 19.2% (18.2% of total)
Singapore … $24.2 million, up 106.3% (7.2% of total)
Thailand … $10.4 million, down 69.9% (3.1% of total)
Vietnam … $9.7 million, down 67.2% (2.9% of total)
United Kingdom … $7.9 million, up 68.3% (2.4% of total)
Canada … $6.6 million, down 21.5% (2% of total)
Netherlands … $5.4 million, up 116.1% (1.6% of total)
Israel … $4.2 million, down 1% (1.2%).

Among the top 10 suppliers of imported inkjet printers to American buyers, 5 countries posted gains ranging from 44.3% for Japan to 276.1% for the number one supplier, China. The average gain for all 10 countries was 27.7%.

For countries with shrinking sales of inkjet printers to the United States, Thailand and Vietnam had the most severe declines (down 69.9% and 67.2%, respectively).

Top 10 Countries Buying Exported U.S. Inkjet Printers

From January to June 2010, the United States exported US$201.3 million worth of inkjet printers to consumers in other nations. That represents a 27.8% gain from the $157.5 million in inkjet printer sales during the first 6 months of 2009.

The following top 10 countries bought 73.8% of all inkjet printers that the United States exported during the first 6 months of 2010. Export sales of inkjet printers to these 10 nations were up 26.7% from the same period in 2009.

Canada … US$36.7 million, up 153.2% (18.2% of total sales as of June 2010)
Brazil … $18.5 million, up 26.3% (9.2% of total)
Peru … $15.9 million, up 63.4% (7.9% of total)
China … $9.2 million, up 2.6% (4.5% of total)
Venezuela … $7.9 million, up 33.4% (3.9% of total)
United Kingdom … $7.7 million, up 123.5% (3.8% of total)
Hong Kong … $7.4 million, up 12.6% (3.7% of total)
Mexico … $7.2 million, down 5% (3.6% of total)
Italy … $6.8 million, up 47.6% (3.4% of total)
France … $6.4 million, up 20.9% (3.2% of total).

U.S. sales of inkjet printers were up for 9 of America’s top 10 trade partners that import inkjet printers. The lowest increase was 2.6% posted by Chinese importers, while the highest gain was 153.2% for Canada.

Inkjet Photo Printer Sales Advantages and Challenges

Overall, the United States imported $133.3 million more worth of imported inkjet printers than the value of American inkjet printers exported to clients around the world.

At the product category level, the U.S. trade deficit for inkjet printers rose 27% from $105 million shortfall during the first 6 months of 2009.

Given that America imports over 50% more worth of photo printers than it exports, the United States has a competitive trade disadvantage in selling inkjet printers made on its own soil.