As a result of the tariff war, analysis indicates that global TV shipments will see a slight decrease compared to last year.
On the 1st, according to market research firm TrendForce, global TV shipments this year are expected to record 196.44 million units, a 0.7% decrease from last year.
In the first quarter, TV shipments maintained a solid level despite being a traditional off-season, recording 45.59 million units. This is an increase of 6.1% compared to the first quarter of last year.
In the U.S., retail inventory of four brands—Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, TCL, and Hisense—has increased by an average of 3 to 4 weeks. TrendForce noted that "the four brands expect a tariff increase of up to 25% on products from Mexico by the end of last year, increasing shipments in North America" and that "due to the announcement that products manufactured in Mexico that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will continue to be tariff-exempt, the burden on TV manufacturers with factories in Mexico has been alleviated."
Due to the effects of the tariff exemption, the first half of this year's TV shipments are analyzed to increase by 3.8%, reaching 94.18 million units.
Shipments of TCL and Hisense are expected to increase by 15% and 7%, respectively, while shipments of Vizio, which is accelerating its push into the U.S. market, are expected to surge by 20%.
However, as a result of this pre-buying phenomenon, shipments in the second half of the year, which is typically a high season, are expected to decrease by 4.5% to 10.27 million units.
TrendForce projected that "TV manufacturers with insufficient production capacity in Mexico may face difficulties if they cannot transfer their production and supply chains by the end of the second quarter" and that "due to the tariff, there is a high possibility of an increase in TV prices in the second half of the year."