US Sales for Laser Printers by Country in 2010

Aug 25, 2010
Daniel Workman

Brother Laser Printer Price - liewcf (Flickr)

China, Japan and Vietnam make almost 95% of imported laser printers, while Mexico is the largest export market for U.S. laser printers as of June 2010.

In the United States, total import sales for laser printers during the first 6 months of 2010 amounted to US$489.3 million.

That figure is almost 50% more than the $334.7 million that American importers spent on inkjet printers over that same timeframe.

Once considered expensive, laser printer prices have become more affordable particularly over the past 5 years. In addition, laser printers are typically faster and cost less in printer toner charges. This is because laser printers use a smaller amount of toner per page when compared to inkjet printing.

Laser printers come in a wide variety of models including all-in-one copiers and fax machines. Economical color laser printers are both widely available and within the budgets of many consumers, businesses and educational facilities.

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

Tariff Code for Laser Printers

The Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code for fast-print laser printers is 8443.32.10.10 (20 pages per minute and over). For slower laser printers, the HTS code is 8443.32.10.20 (under 20 pages per minute). Both categories are combined in the statistics below.

Over 97% of America’s imported laser printers so far in 2010 can output at least 20 pages per minute.

Sources of Imported Laser Printers by Country

During the first half of 2010, the value of laser printers imported into the United States rose 22.6% to US$489.3 million from $399.2 million for the first 6 months of 2009.

The following top 10 countries generated 99% of imported laser printer sales so far in 2010.

China … US$329.5 million, up 18% (67.3% of total import sales as of June 2010)
Japan … $87.9 million, up 35% (17.8% of total)
Vietnam … $46.4 million, up 96.7% (9.5% of total)
South Korea … $10.9 million, down 8.1% (2.2% of total)
Mexico … $8.8 million, down 40.2% (1.8% of total)
Thailand … $4.7 million, up 3,063% (1% of total)
Germany … $578,000 up 816.9% (0.12% of total)
France … $554,000 down 19.4% (0.11% of total)
United Kingdom … $179,000 up 57.2% (0.04% of total)
Netherlands … $173,000 up 155.6% (0.04% of total).

Among the top 10 suppliers of imported laser printers to American consumers, 7 countries posted gains ranging from 18% for China to a remarkable 3,063% surge for Thailand. The average gain for all 10 countries was 23.7%.

Only South Korea, France and Mexico experienced shrinking sales for laser printers shipped to the United States.

Top 10 Countries Buying Exported U.S. Laser Printers

From January to June 2010, the United States sold US$88.3 million worth of laser printers to importers in other nations. That represents a 4.3% gain from the $84.7 million in laser printer sales during the first 6 months of 2009.

The following top 10 countries bought 70.1% of all laser printers that the United States exported during the first 6 months of 2010. Export sales of laser printers to these 10 nations were up 12.8% from the same period in 2009.

Mexico … US$21.7 million, down 21% (24.5% of total sales as of June 2010)
Brazil … $12.6 million, up 81.9% (14.3% of total)
Peru … $5.9 million, down 3.9% (6.7% of total)
United Arab Emirates … $4.6 million, up 318.4% (5.2% of total)
Japan … $3.7 million, down 37.4% (4.2% of total)
Hong Kong … $3.6 million, up 203.9% (4% of total)
Israel … $2.7 million, up 100% (3.1% of total)
Chile … $2.6 million, up 88.8% (3% of total)
Afghanistan … $2.5 million, up 186.2% (2.8% of total)
Venezuela … $2.2 million, down 19.6% (2.4% of total).

Sales of laser printers were up to 6 of America’s top 10 trade partners that import laser printers. Those increases were robust, however, with the lowest rate of 81.9% belonging to Brazil. The United Arab Emirates had the greatest percentage gain at 318.4%.

Laser Printer Sales Advantages and Challenges

For the first half of 2010, the United States imported $401 million more worth of imported laser printers than it exported to other countries.

At the product category level, the U.S. trade deficit for laser printers rose 27.5% from $314.5 million shortfall during the first 6 months of 2009.

Given that America imports over 5 times the value of laser printers that it exports, the United States has a significant competitive trade disadvantage in international laser printer sales.