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China’s chip import volume declines in first five months as rigid Covid-19 control measures disrupt manufacturing sector
- The country imported 232 billion integrated circuit units from January to May, down 10.9 per cent from 260 billion units in the same period last year
- That was in sharp contrast from the 30 per cent surge in chip imports recorded in the first five months of 2021
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China’s import volume of integrated circuit (ICs) decreased nearly 11 per cent in the first five months of the year, according to official customs data released on Thursday, amid disruptions in manufacturing and logistics operations owing to rigid Covid-19 control measures in the world’s biggest market for semiconductors.
The country imported 232 billion IC units from January to May, down 10.9 per cent from 260 billion units shipped in the same period last year, data from the General Administration of Customs shows. That was in sharp contrast from the 30 per cent surge in chip imports recorded in the first five months of 2021.
The total cost of chip imports in the first five months of this year reached US$174.4 billion, a 9 per cent jump from a year earlier, as the global semiconductor shortage continued to push up prices across the industry. That would imply an average unit price increase of 23 per cent for imported chips, according to the South China Morning Post’s calculation based on customs data.
Still, the country’s year-on-year decline in semiconductor imports, which started in the first two months of this year, eased in May. China-based companies imported 45.9 billion IC units that month, up from 45.7 billion units in April.
While the official chip import figures did not include a breakdown by IC type, they help paint a general picture of domestic demand amid China’s faltering economy.
China’s zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 infections, which enforced lockdowns on major cities like Shanghai and even entire regions, slowed down economic activity and caused “a chain reaction across the global economy due to the country’s closed factories and rising logistics costs”, according to a report by Counterpoint Research that was published earlier this month.
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