US imports of automotive parts

In 2020 the US imported over US$131 billion in automotive parts. This is a 15% decrease from 2019 due to the global pandemic. The peak year for imports of automotive parts into the US was 2018 at US$157.8 billion. Scroll down for interactive import tables.

Follow this link for statistics on exports of automotive parts.

Top countries for automotive parts imports 2021:

  1. auto parts imports exportsMexico US$60,147,245,585 (38% of all imports of automotive parts into the US)
  2. Canada US$16,461,364,564 (10% of all imports)
  3. China US$15,160,877,927 (9.5%)
  4. Japan US$15,063,771,603 (9.4%)
  5. Korea US$10,202,469,955 (6.4%)
  6. Germany US$10,145,872,276 (6.4%)
  7. Thailand US$4,762,955,572 (3.0%)
  8. Taiwan US$3,587,494,537 (2.2%)
  9. Vietnam US$2,172,666,596 (1.4%)
  10. Italy US$2081427738 (1.3%)

In 2021, the value of imported auto parts was 125% higher than the value of auto parts exported from the US. In 2021, the US imported US$159.6 billion in automotive parts and exported US$70.94 billion in automotive parts. 2021 was an all-time record for imports, beating the previous high of $157.5 billion in 2018.

In 2021 the US imported over US$159 billion in #automotive parts. Click To Tweet Tariffs on imported automotive parts are a topic of discussion and is frequently in the news. Opponents of tariffs often point to potential harm to the US consumer or automotive industry through higher costs of imported goods. Proponents of tariffs often point to the an “imbalance” of exports vs. imports, citing the $70.94 billion export value vs. the $159.6 billion in import value. The arguments pro or against tariffs are more detailed and complex than we can cover in this analysis.

Imports of auto parts from Mexico, Canada, Japan and other countries

In 2021 the US imported over $60B in #automotive parts from Mexico, a 16.6% increase from 2020. Click To TweetThe top countries sending auto parts into the US are Mexico, Canada and Japan. China, formerly #4 is now #3 and Germany is #6. Chinese automotive parts imported into the US peaked at $20 billion in 2018, an increase of 15% over 2017.

Here is a table showing the top 20 countries that import automotive parts to the US. The top row shows the total amount of auto parts imports from the entire world, for the past seven years. The table includes both OEM and aftermarket auto parts and can be sorted and searched.

20212020201920182017201620152014201320122011
WORLD$159,640,782,200$131,509,074,066 $155,610,678,571 $157,801,339,725 $147,880,118,016 $147,970,571,336 $150,178,924,077 $145,127,285,263 $132,079,438,589 $130,018,279,351 $113,984,725,285
Mexico$60,147,245,585$51,621,152,611 $60,781,901,664 $58,924,591,501 $54,874,198,046 $55,059,598,583 $53,092,388,701 $49,391,866,761 $44,294,287,060 $41,020,620,806 $35,609,826,651
Canada$16,461,364,564$14,067,303,871 $16,904,481,464 $17,223,360,574 $16,086,439,817 $17,057,193,069 $17,726,707,975 $18,249,062,219 $16,924,839,618 $17,433,406,528 $16,354,060,920
Japan$15,063,771,603$12,058,709,417 $14,869,630,896 $16,074,969,329 $16,263,563,596 $15,066,679,288 $14,856,837,354 $15,917,256,589 $15,944,723,603 $18,307,801,106 $15,034,522,801
China$15,160,877,927$11,437,073,996 $15,572,308,099 $20,120,982,055 $17,576,052,577 $17,365,092,076 $18,750,546,971 $18,541,340,290 $16,298,592,105 $14,964,512,171 $12,466,227,605
Korea$10,202,469,955$8,164,391,358 $9,410,663,995 $8,856,236,664 $8,277,489,756 $9,243,717,053 $9,100,719,759 $8,716,942,165 $8,150,939,513 $7,956,251,116 $6,650,721,632
Germany$10,145,872,276$8,435,200,966 $9,224,735,704 $9,595,169,700 $9,855,025,575 $10,042,005,179 $11,283,104,331 $10,715,202,919 $9,817,313,794 $9,677,772,836 $8,180,424,450
Thailand$4,762,955,572$4,141,776,533 $4,327,101,688 $3,497,946,045 $3,188,404,069 $2,993,374,062 $2,546,007,218 $2,071,855,582 $1,852,988,471 $2,045,518,690 $2,143,164,766
Taiwan$3,587,494,537$3,259,879,816 $3,407,438,367 $3,233,046,355 $3,157,650,629 $2,955,786,617 $3,121,937,224 $2,902,067,456 $2,693,214,414 $2,579,568,272 $2,401,539,663
India$2,434,688,261$1,492,732,169 $1,972,813,334 $1,794,032,694 $1,463,297,268 $1,266,276,897 $1,405,909,754 $1,279,809,263 $1,013,037,825 $1,172,207,458 $1,071,073,918
Vietnam$2,172,666,596$1,677,877,332 $1,615,198,359 $1,402,210,036 $1,190,846,356 $918,085,468 $767,493,733 $629,615,627 $584,549,113 $538,203,055 $345,732,236
Italy$2,081,427,738$1,496,377,260 $1,437,532,018 $1,652,848,752 $1,116,845,799 $1,341,877,958 $1,635,982,971 $1,605,517,288 $1,124,970,737 $1,072,907,312 $932,200,896
Austria$1,365,947,473$1,046,145,774 $1,039,913,441 $1,044,795,780 $1,149,686,564 $1,123,856,030 $1,374,426,970 $1,377,170,974 $953,013,723 $986,227,979 $1,620,785,098
United Kingdom$1,213,619,208$1,064,167,484 $1,402,163,242 $1,426,837,096 $1,306,260,209 $1,183,398,177 $1,325,122,574 $1,401,974,598 $1,296,987,508 $1,157,500,311 $941,051,070
Brazil$1,210,588,712$932,723,467 $1,253,501,298 $1,242,780,330 $1,129,549,832 $984,115,086 $1,079,459,310 $1,095,222,918 $1,147,106,045 $1,511,483,389 $1,573,108,616
Indonesia$1,124,075,684$933,120,548 $1,012,604,055 $1,017,771,075 $1,139,649,360 $1,208,877,805 $1,067,776,023 $843,263,223 $852,472,242 $837,466,943 $862,168,793
Czech Republic$1,042,908,674$779,827,827 $863,811,133 $832,235,411 $832,859,063 $830,030,843 $871,465,387 $742,195,021 $675,962,109 $646,830,143 $537,016,014
Spain$997,517,574$968,317,134 $1,036,866,601 $895,766,492 $951,972,637 $887,199,170 $1,099,663,442 $1,040,352,939 $903,254,998 $806,208,396 $458,459,462
Philippines$989,988,982$752,421,590 $1,034,365,296 $859,812,827 $854,167,135 $852,561,649 $916,947,819 $769,631,373 $632,399,731 $563,510,760 $487,396,820
Poland$837,830,860$608,946,237 $628,584,702 $498,810,863 $473,389,577 $464,644,630 $480,998,156 $502,824,775 $445,754,240 $441,431,112 $294,213,839
Malaysia$650,543,444$679,050,429 $627,598,424 $501,710,178 $373,685,441 $393,686,684 $383,248,338 $319,271,461 $273,344,913 $286,532,785 $220,198,346

Imports of automotive parts to the US, by part type

This table shows the types of parts imported to the United States by year 2017-2021. It includes both OEM and aftermarket auto parts and shows the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code for each part type. This table can be sorted and searched.

HTS NumberDescription20212020201920182017
6813.81Brake lining and pads$129,692,291$105,780,998$137,414,189$140,190,444$174,682,117
7007.11Tempered safety glass (vehicles, aircraft, boats)$187,159,374$130,891,118$162,267,036$169,071,306$157,871,688
7009.10Rear-view mirrors$380,978,320$299,704,211$307,182,361$290,461,292$266,575,272
8301.20Vehicle locks$659,898,058$586,921,158$680,501,018$716,554,486$748,425,788
8302.30Other mountings and fittings$2,105,105,087$1,665,760,278$2,067,764,383$2,043,443,133$1,878,201,444
8511.10Spark plugs$555,041,041$475,262,144$480,919,049$481,371,535$474,808,107
8511.20Magnetos and flywheels$29,617,507$18,243,157$23,861,061$25,962,647$21,838,224
8511.30Distributors and ignition coils$508,269,401$402,711,184$455,920,914$569,678,877$527,614,462
8511.40Starters$1,376,364,366$1,165,253,043$1,370,007,676$1,345,745,226$1,198,808,152
8511.50Generators and other generator parts$1,177,491,914$960,273,847$1,114,823,313$1,168,473,671$1,143,549,231
8511.80Other ignition parts$177,284,298$153,793,301$174,377,970$180,061,924$157,240,703
8511.90Other misc parts for lighting, wipers or defrosters$325,302,480$324,941,042$411,243,314$392,020,571$366,622,973
8512.20Lighting (automotive and motorycles)$4,337,500,001$3,655,121,455$3,960,816,523$3,971,676,514$3,518,549,959
8512.30Horns (automotive and motorcycles)$181,365,446$145,146,319$165,781,309$222,678,391$244,303,057
8512.40Wipers and defrosters$103,110,535$82,035,074$104,084,774$173,522,383$162,935,689
8512.90Parts for lighting, wipers or defrosters$1,677,370,379$1,406,437,259$1,754,940,332$1,852,441,545$1,560,263,700
8527.21Radios$2,187,740,168$2,021,283,386$2,448,705,759$2,573,613,010$2,999,198,048
8527.29Other misc. radios$327,962,776$227,002,460$221,058,802$228,240,373$101,889,177
8708.10Bumpers and parts$1,187,561,334$963,238,740$1,175,439,841$1,231,774,027$1,186,568,473
8708.21Seat belts$291,756,678$263,791,836$103,397,693$85,649,913$50,522,954
8708.29Body parts excluding cabs$15,341,696,778$12,057,939,169$13,971,887,635$14,216,533,580$12,669,612,584
8708.30Brakes and parts$5,680,553,573$4,628,060,660$5,371,795,213$5,371,731,502$4,720,451,933
8708.40Gear boxes$8,369,323,227$6,840,062,681$7,905,105,235$8,475,257,221$7,820,277,349
8708.50Drive axles with differential$4,858,699,249$3,626,562,372$4,394,075,637$4,295,366,026$3,809,725,580
8708.70Wheels and parts$4,285,539,664$3,335,817,075$3,698,612,551$4,434,128,680$3,906,521,552
8708.80Shock absorbers$4,172,114,333$3,253,204,135$3,657,846,200$3,971,086,895$3,569,458,609
8708.91Radiators$913,367,827$773,001,203$876,265,297$973,833,763$908,374,172
8708.92Mufflers and exhaust$1,148,661,956$849,670,857$1,036,293,229$998,028,616$850,628,221
8708.93Clutches and parts$1,410,003,472$1,128,388,883$1,399,840,625$1,376,309,925$1,296,259,018
8708.94Steering parts$3,843,160,879$3,413,524,338$4,105,854,471$4,323,989,945$4,060,479,614
8708.95Airbags$1,703,417,435$1,785,164,725$2,369,710,727$2,506,056,822$2,745,797,600
8708.99All other automotive parts$14,051,835,869$11,426,117,974$13,413,903,229$13,842,771,722$12,870,154,430
9401.20Seats$234,179,760$241,153,505$253,571,436$211,629,137$177,441,451

More information on the automotive aftermarket

If you’d like more information on the automotive aftermarket, including size of the aftermarket in the US, Canada, Mexico and other countries, read this post on the size of the automotive aftermarket.

Information sources for this article

United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division; Bureau of the Census USA Trade and Investopedia. Import and export statistics pulled from TPIS Database: USHS IMPORTS, Revised Statistics for 2011-2021.