US Sales for Digital Cameras by Country in 2010

Aug 23, 2010
Daniel Workman

Hewlett Packard Digital Camera - Peripitus (Wikimedia Commons)

The Hewlett Packard digital camera and Kodak digicams are examples of advanced American technologies. So where are most imported digital cameras made?

Also called digicams, digital cameras use electronic image sensors to record images for still photographs and videos.

Today, digital cameras are much more popular than film cameras, primarily due to their ease of use.

Digital cameras can store thousands of photos on removable memory cards, and immediately display captured images on screen. If consumers do not like an image, they simply delete the selected photo, thereby creating more space available for other pictures.

The analysis below compares U.S. import and export sales of digital cameras from January to June 2010 versus the first 6 months of 2009.

The Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code for digital cameras is 8525.80.40.00.

Sources of Imported Digital Cameras by Country

During the first half of 2010, the value of digital cameras imported into the United States rose 30% to US$2.4 billion from $1.8 billion for the first 6 months of 2009.

The following top 10 countries generated 99% of import sales for digital cameras so far in 2010 (currency is in US dollars):

China – $1.1 billion, up 35.5% (48% of total import sales as of June 2010);
Japan – $702.3 million, up 25.2% (29.7% of total);
Thailand – $151.7 million, up 43.4% (6.4% of total);
Indonesia – $118.4 million, down 12.6% (5% of total);
Taiwan – $75.5 million, up 604% (3.2% of total);
Vietnam – $64.1 million, down 23.1% (2.7% of total);
Malaysia – $58.6 million, up 17.9% (2.5% of total);
Germany – $16.6 million, up 170.8% (0.7% of total);
Philippines – $11.3 million, up 76.1% (0.5% of total);
Canada – $8.4 million, down 22.1% (0.4% of total).

Among the top 10 suppliers of imported digital cameras to American consumers, 7 countries posted gains ranging from 17.9% for Malaysia to 604% for Taiwan. The average gain for all 10 countries was 29.6%.

Also, 8 of the top 10 trade partners shipping digital cameras to the United States are Asian countries.

Top 10 Countries Buying Exported U.S. Digital Cameras

As of June 2010, the United States exported US$548.7 million worth of digital cameras to consumers in other nations. That represents a 22.9% boost from the $446.4 million in digital camera sales during the first 6 months of 2009.

The following top 10 countries bought 73.8% of all digital cameras that the United States exported during the first 6 months of 2010. Export sales of digital cameras to these 10 nations were up 26.7% from the same period in 2009 (currency is in US dollars):

Canada – $103.4 million, up 18% (18.8% of total sales as of June 2010);
Hong Kong – $87 million, up 32.1% (15.8% of total);
Paraguay – $81.1 million, up 99.8% (14.8% of total);
Mexico – $48.1 million, up 14% (8.8% of total);
China – $15.9 million, up 30.9% (2.9% of total);
United Kingdom – $14.9 million, up 31% (2.7% of total);
Netherlands – $14.1 million, up 28.6% (2.6% of total);
Argentina – $13.9 million, no change (2.5% of total);
Japan – $13.6 million, down 55% (2.5% of total);
Peru – $13 million, up 164.5% (2.4% of total).

U.S. sales of digital cameras were up for 8 of America’s top 10 trade partners that import digital cameras. The lowest gain was 18% posted by Canadian importers, while the highest increase was 164.5% for the South American nation Peru.

Digicam Sales Advantages and Challenges

Overall, the United States spent $1.8 billion more on imported digital cameras than American exporters received for selling made-in-USA digicams.

At the product category level, the U.S. trade deficit for digital cameras rose 31.6% from $1.4 billion during the first 6 months of 2009.

Building on the advanced technology of established American companies that make such products as the Hewlett Packard digital camera and the Kodak digital camera, the United States needs to capture more international sales in order to close the widening trade gap for digicams.