Swiss watch exports climbed 18% year on year in April as the US market brought forward large orders to avoid a potential increase in prices from tariffs.
Shipments of luxury timepieces increased to CHF 2.55 billion ($3.09 billion), the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Tuesday. The US primarily led the charge; without those imports, April would have seen a 6% decline, the federation noted.
“The monthly performance was largely driven by an exceptional increase in exports to the US,” the federation said. “This was mainly the result of early shipments, motivated by the increase in US customs duties. The sharp rise in exports is therefore more a reflection of a one-off response to an uncertain commercial situation than a genuine sign of a structural strengthening of demand.”
Exports to the US surged 149% to CHF 851.9 million ($1 billion) for the month, while shipments to Japan grew 1.9% to CHF 175.5 million ($212.5 million). Supply to the UK, which moved into the top three for the first time, climbed 1.6% to CHF 144.5 million ($174.9 million). Orders to Singapore, which broke the top four, fell 9% to CHF 132.2 million ($160 million). Meanwhile, exports to China plunged 31% to CHF 131.7 million ($159.4 million), and those to Hong Kong fell 23% to CHF 131.1 million ($158.7 million).
Timepieces in most price ranges saw increases. Units valued below CHF 200 ($242) were up 10%, while those priced between CHF 500 ($605) and CHF 3,000 ($3,632) rose 5%. Watches that cost over CHF 3,000 jumped 23%. Only those that cost between CHF 200 and CHF 500 slipped, down 1.2%.
Total shipments for the first four months of the year grew 4% to CHF 8.66 billion ($10.48 billion).
Image: A display of Swiss watches. (Shutterstock)
