Smartphone Assembly Volumes Increase 11.9 Percent in 2Q19

According to IDC, worldwide smartphone assembly shipment volumes increased 11.9% quarter over quarter during the second quarter of 2019 (2Q19) with total shipments of 332.6 million. The gains were largely due to inventory decreasing in 1Q19 and vendors competing for market share.

"Falling inventory combined with increased competition caused global smartphone production to increase 11.9% (QoQ) in 2Q19," said Sean Kao, senior research manager with IDC's Worldwide Smartphone ODM Research Group. "However, a more pessimistic outlook on the global economy due to the US-China trade war has led to a production drop in June. As a result, worldwide smartphone assembly shipment volumes showed a year-over-year decrease of 3.5%.

Due to ODM policy and partner changes from Huawei, OPPO, and Xiaomi, the ranking and market share of Chinese EMSes have improved significantly. The market share of Chinese smartphone ODM/EMS assembly shipment volumes increased from 40.7% in 1Q19 to 51.3% in 2Q19.

Looking ahead, IDC expects smartphone ODM/EMS assembly volumes to slow down in July and August due to Samsung and Huawei lowering regional market targets, combined with high inventory and the US-China trade war.