Imported & Exported Musical Instrument Sales

According to Forbes, the ten most expensive musical instruments sold via public auction are: John Lennon’s piano (US$2.08 million), 3 Stadivarius violins sold individually (total $5.4 million), a Stradivarius cello ($1.03 million), Eric Clapton’s guitar ($959,500), a harpsichord ($390,550), Keith Moon’s drums ($252,487), a flute ($187,000) and Dizzie Gillespie’s trumpet ($55,000).

Of course, the average prices for imported and exported musical instruments pale in comparison to the cost of a Stradivarius or celebrity music memorabilia. Still, the United States traded about $3.7 billion worth of musical instruments on world markets last year.

The analysis below shows which countries imported the most American-made musical instruments and those nations that shipped the most music-making products to the U.S. in 2007.

Top Countries For US Musical Instruments Exports

Sales of musical instruments from America to the rest of the world were US$2.1 billion in 2007. The following 10 countries bought 67.9% of total U.S. musical instrument exports in 2007.

1. Canada … US$428 million (20.3% of total US musical instrument exports)
2. Mexico … $169.4 million (8%)
3. Germany … $152 million (7.2%)
4. Japan … $147.8 million (7%)
5. Netherlands … $115.3 million (5.5%)
6. Paraguay … $112 million (5.3%)
7. United Kingdom … $108 million (5.1%)
8. Hong Kong … $98.6 million (4.7%)
9. Brazil … $54.8 million (2.6%)
10. South Korea … $46.5 million (2.2%).

Fastest-Growing Customers For US Musical Instruments

Last year, American musical exports to the world rose 37.9% from 2006 and were up 103.7% since 2003.

1. Iraq … US$7.2 million - Up 961.4% from 2006; Up 7,711% from 2003
2. Vietnam … $2.6 million - Up 896.2%; Up 870.4%
3. Pakistan … $2.2 million - Up 385.7%; Up 2,974%
4. Canada … $428 million - Up 170.7%; Up 211.9%
5. Ukraine … $2.8 million - Up 148.4%; Up 540.8%.

Fastest-Declining Customers For US Musical Instruments

Led by South Korea, the following countries bought fewer musical instruments from the U.S. last year.

1. South Korea … US$46.5 million - Down 49.9% from 2006; Up 67.3% from 2003
2. Saudi Arabia … $3.5 million - Down 45.6%; Up 256.6%
3. Ireland … $3.7 million - Down 39.9%; Up 28.5%
4. Russia … $2.4 million - Down 33.8%; Down 21.4%
5. Philippines … $5.8 million - Down 27.8%; Up 158.7%.

Top Countries For Supplying Musical Instruments To US

America exported US$1.6 billion worth of musical instruments in 2007. The top 10 providers listed below generate 90.2% of the US total.

1. China … US$610.4 million (37.7% of total US musical instrument imports)
2. Japan … $263.9 million (16.3%)
3. Indonesia … $110 million (6.8%)
4. Taiwan … $101.3 million (6.3%)
5. Germany … $98.2 million (6.1%)
6. Mexico … $83.7 million (5.2%)
7. South Korea … $70.5 million (4.4%)
8. Canada … $65.5 million (4%)
9. France … $36.3 million (2.2%)
10. Italy … $20.6 million (1.3%).

Fastest-Growing Musical Instrument Suppliers To US

American musical instrument imports from the world fell 2% last year from the prior year but were up 8.1% since 2003.

1. Vietnam … US$3.7 million - Up 109.4% from 2006; Up 278.1% from 2003
2. Sweden … $6.3 million - Up 102.9%; Up 254.9%
3. Singapore … $2.9 million - Up 54.4%; Up 102.7%
4. Hong Kong … $8.7 million - Up 23.9%; Up 31.8%
5. Netherlands … $10.6 million - Up 18.9%; Up 62.3%.

Fastest-Declining Musical Instrument Suppliers To US

The following countries imported fewer musical instruments into the U.S. last year.

1. Hungary … US$1.6 million - Down 56.2% from 2006; Up 134.8% from 2003
2. Brazil … $3.2 million - Down 25.4%; Up 100.1%
3. Czech Republic … $7.2 million - Down 18.9%; Down 45.4%
4. Taiwan … $101.3 million - Down 18.8%; Down 10.4%
5. Philippines … $3.1 million - Down 17.7%; Down 29.4%.

Sources for this Article

This article presents independent calculations and insights based on data drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau – Foreign Trade Statistics and the November 4, 2006 article ‘Most Expensive Musical Instruments’.

Guitars - A popular musical import and export

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