Office equipment makers Sharp and Kyocera are considering moving production out of China in response to U.S. tariffs, Nikkei reports. Sharp, like Ricoh as outlined in Panjiva’s research of May 20, plans to shift production of printers to Thailand for the U.S. market. Kyocera meanwhile is shifting its production of photocopiers destined for the U.S. market to Vietnam.

Panjiva data shows that tariffs applied in Jul. 2018 at a rate of 25% have resulted in a 19.6% year over year drop in U.S. seaborne imports of printers and copiers in the first quarter of 2019, extending to a 35.4% slump in April. Meanwhile imports from all other countries have been unchanged in 1Q and fallen by 10.9% in April. That would suggest the supply chain for printers is already being rebuilt by companies in the face of tariffs.

Chart segments U.S. seaborne imports of printers and copiers (HS 8443) by origin.  Source: Panjiva

Kyocera may have problems beyond tariffs, however, after its seaborne imports from China fell 37.9% year over year on a  year-to-date basis while its rest of world shipments dropped 30.0%. Indeed, it had only started ramping up imports from China in Apr. 2017. Ricoh meanwhile saw a 31.2% drop in imports from China but a 16.2% increase in imports from the rest of the world.

Chart segments U.S. seaborne imports of printers and copiers (HS 8443) by consignee and origin.  Source: Panjiva