Import Tracker: Guitar Imports Surge Again! ...to slow overall imports of products destined for music stores nationwide. Well-publicized price increase from manufacturers in China, Japan, and Europe helped drive the overall value of imports of musical instruments to an all-time high during this period, largely led by tremendous demand for fretted instrument.
Guitar imports gained momentum again during the second quarter, advancing 28% to 949,691 units. The figure for the three-month period ended June 30 was just shy of the all-time import record of 1.1 million units set back in 2005. Across the board, imports of all fretted instruments surged during the latest three-month period: Acoustic Guitars (Under $299 Retail) +42%; Acoustic Guitars (Over $299 Retail) +6%; and, Electric Guitars +24%. China continued to produce the majority of fretted instruments sold in the U.S. with a 74% share of the acoustic guitar market and a 62% share of the electric guitar market. Average unit prices, which advanced 12.6% compared to the year-earlier period, did little to deter overall import volume, a strong indicator that consumer demand for these products is running very strong.
Imports of band and orchestral instruments are bumping into all-time records set during the last three years, advancing 4% for the April to June quarter. During the period, imports rose in virtually all school instrument categories: Brasswinds +3%, Clarinets +17%, Saxophones +1%, Flutes +32%, and Stringed Instruments -5%. These numbers reveal that manufacturers are continuing to source more product in China, in spite of cost increases that averaged more than 10% compared to last year. Imports of Chinese-produced school music products advanced in these product groups compared to the year earlier period: Brasswinds +12%, Clarinets +70%, and Flutes +7%. During the quarter, imports of Percussion Products registered the first increase in seven quarters, advancing 1% to 247,048 units.
Overall, imports of professional audio equipment were flat in the second quarter: Microphones +6%, Multiple Speaker Enclosures +5%, Power Amps -11%, and Single Speaker Enclosures -13%. Portable keyboards were unchanged from last year: 153,900 units compared to 153,901. Synthesizers registered a sizable decline of 27%: 15,050 units compared to 20,589 for the second quarter of 2007.
Although the year-over-year unit decline in piano imports stands at 13% for the first six months of 2008, the overall dollar value of those imports dropped just 1.4%. The categories tracked in this column reveal that customers are favoring larger vertical and grand pianos as well as higher-priced imports from Germany, Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Import figures reveal that for the first six months of the year imports of Studio Pianos jumped 61% and large 195cm Grand Pianos increased 34%. For the first time ever, Indonesia became the top source for acoustic pianos sold in the United States. Through June of this year, producers there, led by Samick, Kawai, and Yamaha, exported 7,404 pianos compared to 7,397 units from Japan and 6,970 from China...Get It Today
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