U.S. Medical Instruments Imports

In April 2023, after two months of growth, there was significant decline in purchases abroad of instruments used in medical sciences, when their volume decreased by -11.3% to 9.4K tons. Overall, imports continue to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern. The growth pace was the most rapid in August 2022 when imports increased by 15% month-to-month. As a result, imports reached the peak of 11K tons. From September 2022 to April 2023, the growth of imports remained at a lower figure.

In value terms, medical instruments imports fell to $1.5B (IndexBox estimates) in April 2023. In general, imports, however, recorded a relatively flat trend pattern. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in March 2023 when imports increased by 18% m-o-m. As a result, imports reached the peak of $1.7B, and then reduced in the following month.

Imports by Country

In April 2023, Mexico (4.7K tons) constituted the largest medical instruments supplier to the United States, with a 50% share of total imports. Moreover, medical instruments imports from Mexico exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest supplier, the Dominican Republic (1.2K tons), fourfold. The third position in this ranking was held by Costa Rica (795 tons), with an 8.5% share.

From April 2022 to April 2023, the average monthly rate of growth in terms of volume from Mexico was relatively modest. The remaining supplying countries recorded the following average monthly rates of imports growth: the Dominican Republic (+0.2% per month) and Costa Rica (-1.7% per month).

In value terms, Mexico ($565M) constituted the largest supplier of medical instruments to the United States, comprising 38% of total imports. The second position in the ranking was held by Germany ($154M), with a 10% share of total imports. It was followed by Costa Rica, with an 8.8% share.

From April 2022 to April 2023, the average monthly rate of growth in terms of value from Mexico amounted to +2.1%. The remaining supplying countries recorded the following average monthly rates of imports growth: Germany (+0.7% per month) and Costa Rica (+0.7% per month).

Import Prices by Country

In April 2023, the medical instruments price amounted to $157K per ton (CIF, US), approximately mirroring the previous month. Over the period under review, the import price saw a relatively flat trend pattern. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in September 2022 when the average import price increased by 8.6% against the previous month. Over the period under review, average import prices hit record highs at $161K per ton in January 2023; however, from February 2023 to April 2023, import prices stood at a somewhat lower figure.

There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major supplying countries. In April 2023, the country with the highest price was Germany ($707K per ton), while the price for India ($42,069 per ton) was amongst the lowest.

From April 2022 to April 2023, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Japan (+4.6%), while the prices for the other major suppliers experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform 

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