EsTelecoms handset and equipment exports are China’s leading export industry. As outlined in Panjiva research of November 13 they accounted accounting for $210 billion of exports in the 12 months to September 30. Yet, the industry has run into a period of slow growth recently. Exports of mobile phones in the month of September, the first peak month of the year, fell 1.9% on a year earlier Panjiva data shows.
That likely reflects, in part, the two-stage release of Apple’s latest iPhone update with the 8-series becoming available on September 22 and the X-line only having been released on November 3. U.S. shipments have been slightly healthier than average, having increased by 2.5% in September and by 6.0% in the quarter.
Source: Panjiva
The “late iPhone” factor can also be seen in the shipments by Foxconn and Pegatron, Apple’s two main suppliers of the iPhone. Their combined shipments fell 14.4% on a year earlier in September. There appears to have been a supply chain shift, with Pegatron seeing a 7.5% rise and Foxconn suffering a drop of 25.2%. It should be noted both also produce phones for other companies. Samsung Electronics is having more success, with exports having risen 32.3% on a year earlier.
Source: Panjiva
