Double-digit growth in the global smartphone market has finally halted, as shipments declined 6.7 per cent year-on-year during the September quarter.
All regions were hit, with the Asia/Pacific region, excluding Japan and China, suffering an 11.6 per cent reduction in shipments year-on-year.
This is compared to the US and China, who only suffered falls of 0.2 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively.
As global supply worsens, this gap will only be most marked; as the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker (who collated the data) notes, US and China are “usually given more priority” by vendors.
“The supply chain and component shortage issues have finally caught up to the smartphone market, which until now seemed almost immune to this issue despite its adverse impact on many other adjacent industries,” said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.
“In all honestly, it was never fully immune to the shortages, but until recently the shortages were not severe enough to cause a decline in shipments and was simply limiting the rate of growth.
“However, the issues have now compounded, and shortages are affecting all vendors alike. On top of component shortages, the industry has also been hit with other manufacturing and logistical challenges.
“Stricter testing and quarantining policies are delaying transportation and power supply constraints in China are restricting manufacturing of key components.
“Despite all efforts to mitigate the impact, all major vendors’ production targets for the fourth quarter have been adjusted downwards. With continued strong demand, we don’t anticipate the supply-side issues to ease until well into next year.”
