
From 2019 to 2020, the value of globally exported artificial joints fell by -14.9%.
As the massive cohort of baby boomers continues to age, the number of surgeries for artificial knee, hip, ankle and other joint replacement continues to accelerate at a steady pace.
The 5 biggest exporters of artificial joints by value are the Netherlands, United States, Ireland, Switzerland and Belgium. Combined, that quintet of leading suppliers accounted for roughly seven-tenths (69.4%) of artificial joints sold on international markets during 2020.
Among continents, exporters in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported artificial joints during 2020 with shipments valued at $8.2 billion or over four-fifths (81%) of overall exports for these highly specialized limb-related replacements. In second place were North American exporters at 14.7% while another 4% of worldwide artificial joints shipments originated from Asia.
Smaller percentages came from Oceania (0.2%) led by Australia, then Latin America (0.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Africa (0.03%).
For research purposes, artificial joints for orthopedic purposes are classified under 902131, a 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix.
Top Artificial Joints Exporters by Country
Countries
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of artificial joints during 2020.
- Netherlands: US$2.2 billion (21.6% of exported artificial joints)
- United States: $1.5 billion (14.7%)
- Ireland: $1.3 billion (13%)
- Switzerland: $1.1 billion (10.9%)
- Belgium: $943.9 million (9.3%)
- Germany: $846.1 million (8.3%)
- France: $680 million (6.7%)
- United Kingdom: $676.8 million (6.6%)
- Italy: $265.5 million (2.6%)
- China: $170.4 million (1.7%)
- Singapore: $140 million (1.4%)
- Iceland: $41 million (0.4%)
- Sweden: $32 million (0.3%)
- Austria: $32 million (0.3%)
- Taiwan: $30.6 million (0.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.1% of globally exported artificial joints in 2020.
Among the top exporters, none benefited from higher revenues from 2019 to 2020.
Those countries that posted declines in their international sales of artificial joints were led by: Singapore (down -40.1%), Sweden (down -33.7%), Iceland (down -28.9%), Ireland (down -21.7%) and the United States (down -21.4%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for artificial joints during 2020. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported artificial joints and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Ireland: US$1.2 billion (net export surplus down -25% since 2019)
- Netherlands: $1.1 billion (down -10.1%)
- Switzerland: $642.2 million (up 10.4%)
- Belgium: $506.5 million (down -13.2%)
- United Kingdom: $282.1 million (up 29.9%)
- Germany: $215.7 million (down -29.8%)
- Singapore: $50.4 million (down -21.2%)
- Iceland: $38.9 million (down -28.8%)
- Belarus: $2.6 million (reversing a -$1.7 million deficit)
- Costa Rica: $1.3 million (up 1369.8%)
- Georgia: $873,000 (down -2.1%)
- France: $263,000 (down -99.6%)
- North Korea: $4,000 (no 2019 data available)
Ireland generated the highest surplus in the international trade of artificial joints. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Ireland’s strong competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for artificial joints during 2020. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported artificial joints purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$992.2 million (net export deficit down -2% since 2019)
- Japan: -$449.1 million (down -1.1%)
- China: -$349 million (up 1.4%)
- Australia: -$251.2 million (down -8.7%)
- Spain: -$141.1 million (down -24.5%)
- Canada: -$132.9 million (down -19.3%)
- Norway: -$76.8 million (up 105.1%)
- Russia: -$74.2 million (down -20.6%)
- South Korea: -$70.9 million (down -24.6%)
- Poland: -$66.1 million (down -13.4%)
- Austria: -$60.2 million (down -3.6%)
- Italy: -$48.6 million (down -54.9%)
- New Zealand: -$46 million (down -1.3%)
- South Africa: -$43.1 million (down -6.4%)
- Denmark: -$41 million (down -9.1%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of artificial joints. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for artificial joints-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful consumer demand.
Companies
Artificial Joints Exporting Companies
Below are artificial joints-manufacturing conglomerates headquartered in the United States. They are presented in order of greatest market capitalization, according to Morningstar’s analysis of industry peers.
- Stryker Corp
- Abbott Laboratories
- Boston Scientific
- Intuitive Surgical Inc
- Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc
- Edwards Lifesciences Corp
- St Jude Medical Inc
- Smith & Nephew PLC
- Varian Medical Systems Inc
- Sonova Holding AG
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following are examples of exporters that supply artificial joints. The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses.
- Shijiazhuang City Huirong Stainless Steel Products (China)
- Daiya Industry Co Ltd (Japan)
- Standard Steel (India)
- Medimsa Medical Production Industry (Turkey)
- DOO Ortopedija Nis (Serbia)
- Biomecanica Orthopedic Industry Ltd (Brazil)
See also Top Industrial Robots Exporters, Electronic Circuit Component Exports by Country and Heart Pacemaker Export Sales by Country.
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for artificial joints. Accessed on September 27, 2021
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 27, 2021
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 27, 2021
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 27, 2021
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 27, 2021
Morningstar, Industry Peers for Stryker Corp. Accessed on September 27, 2021