Bottle-less water coolers are typically connected to a building’s tap water supply, and have a refrigeration unit to cool water dispensed from the device.
Bottled water coolers may also have a refrigeration unit to dispense cool water. Because water delivery companies restock water containers a regular basis, bottled water coolers involve an additional ongoing expense.
This analysis summarizes U.S. imports and exports of all types of water coolers, whether installed at home or in offices. All dollar amounts in this article are in American currency.
Overall U.S. Water Cooler Sales in 2009
In the first 11 months of 2009, the United States imported US$90.1 million worth of water coolers from 14 manufacturing nations from around the world. This amount represents an 11.8% drop from the $102.2 million in imported water dispensers delivered to America during the first 11 months of 2008.
U.S. manufacturers sold American-made water coolers to 64 countries around the globe during that same timeframe. This would seem to indicate potential for U.S. revenues from water cooler sales to outpace American expenditures on imported water coolers. However, total exports of U.S. water coolers amounted to only $8.3 million during the first 11 months of 2009.
Rather than building on sales of American water coolers to a growing cohort of international clients, American water cooler exports fell 14.1% from the $9.6 million in water cooler products shipped abroad as of November 2008.
Top Suppliers of US-Imported Water Coolers
Below are the 10 nations that shipped the highest total value of water coolers to the U.S. during the first 11 months of 2009.
The top 4 countries below (China, Malaysia, Mexico and South Korea) provided 98.7% of overall water cooler shipments to the U.S.
- China … US$57.8 million (64.1% of US-imported water coolers, down 6.4% from 2008)
- Malaysia … $13.3 million (14. 8%, down 21.1%)
- Mexico … $9.3 million (10.3%, down 24.3%)
- South Korea … $8.6 million (9.5%, down 13.2%)
- Canada … $490,000 (0.5%, up 28.7%)
- Switzerland … $200,000 (0.2%, down 0.4%)
- Taiwan … $178,000 (0.2%, up 167.6%)
- Brazil … $159,000 (0.18%, up 636.50%)
- Italy … $75,000 (0.08%, up 200.3%)
- Israel … $32,000 (0.04%, up from nil in 2008).
Not only is China the largest supplier of exported water coolers, the People’s Republic also posted the third-fastest percentage gain among top 10 supplying nations. Brazil and Taiwan accelerated their water cooler exports to American customers at the fastest pace in 2009, although starting from much smaller sales during the prior year.
Top Customers for Exported American Water Coolers
International customers for U.S. water cooler exports are much more diversified than American import suppliers. The following top 10 countries received 72.5% of U.S. total water dispenser shipments during the first 11 months of 2009, while the leading 4 suppliers accounted for 44.9%.
- United Kingdom … US$1.5 million (18.1% of US water cooler exports, up 80.3% from 2008)
- Canada … $927,000 (11.2%, down 13.6%)
- India … $759,000 (9.2%, up 1,063%)
- Venezuela … $537,000 (6.5%, down 64.4%)
- Saudi Arabia … $516,000 (6.2%, up 0.8%)
- Mexico … $473,000 (5.7%, down 2%)
- South Korea … $452,000 (5.5%, up 77%)
- Panama … $344,000 (4.2%, down 33.2%)
- China … $304,000 (3.7%, up 134.1%)
- Bahamas … $186,000 (2.3%, up 206.3%).
The U.K. represented the largest market for American water cooler exporters, and also generated a robust 80.3% sales gain over 2008. Indian importers increased their purchases of U.S. water dispensers by the highest percentage, an impressive 1,063% gain. The world’s most highly populated nation with 1.3 billion people, China provided U.S. water cooler exporters with triple-digit sales gains as of November 2009.
Tariff Duties on Water Coolers
The 10-digit harmonized system code (HSC) for water coolers is 8418.69.01.20. Customs officials use the HSC to determine the applicable tariff duty rates. Because U.S customs treats water cooler imports as duty-free products, no tariff duties apply to water dispensing products classified as 8418.69.01.20.
Competitive Advantages in Trading Water Coolers
For the 11-month period ending November 2009, China shipped $57.8 million worth of water coolers to the U.S. Over that same period, the U.S. sold $304,000 worth of American-made water coolers to Chinese clients. Therefore, China has a dominating $57.5 million dollar competitive advantage in the international trade of water coolers with America.
Still, U.S. water dispenser exporters have established markets in 3 of the world’s most populated and fastest-growing emerging markets: China, India and Brazil. If American manufacturers can accelerate water cooler sales in those countries, the U.S. may yet have an international trade success story to chat about at the water cooler.
Sources: United States International Trade Commission’s Interactive Tariff and Trade DataWeb, Industry Canada's Trade Data Online, based on Statistics Canada reports as of January 30, 2010, United States International Trade Commission Harmonized Tariff Schedule, and Canada Border Services Agency's online customs tariff manual.
Daniel Workman - A senior business and finance writer who also does French translations, notably international trade and insurance materials.
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