US lithium-ion battery imports rebound in Q2 despite trade friction

After a slow start to 2026, US lithium-ion battery imports bounced back in the second quarter. But import levels remained significantly below last year's levels and a 2024 surge.

Battery shipments to the US reached 215,942 metric tons in the second quarter, up 26% from the first three months of the year but down 10% from the second quarter of 2025, according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence Global Trade Analytics Suite.

In the first half of 2026, the US imported 386,965 mt of lithium-ion batteries for energy storage projects, electric vehicles, consumer electronics and other applications. That was 31% lower than a year earlier, the data showed.

This year's overall battery imports slowed after new US supply chain restrictions and tariffs took effect, largely affecting shipments from China, and as US manufacturing capacity dedicated to energy storage rapidly expands to meet data center-driven demand for power.

Battery imports for energy storage and other non-EV uses totaled 193,370 mt in the second quarter of 2026, rising nearly 29% from the first quarter but down roughly 8% from a year ago.

EV battery imports reached 22,572 mt in the second quarter, compared with 20,873 mt in the first quarter and 30,983 mt in last year's second quarter.

Battery shipments to the US peaked in the fourth quarter of 2024, when companies imported 385,829 mt, according to the Global Trade Analytics Suite, which relies on US Census Bureau data.

China remains the single largest source of US lithium-ion battery imports, accounting for 66.5% of batteries brought into the country in the second quarter, per the Global Trade Analytics Suite. That was up from China's 60.3% share of battery imports in the first quarter of 2026, but down from 77% a year earlier.

South Korea accounted for 9.9% of second-quarter imports, compared with 13.6% in the first quarter and 9% in Q2 2025.

Japan contributed 7.1% of US battery imports in the period after accounting for 7.9% in the first quarter of 2026 and 5.6% a year prior. Malaysia and Vietnam accounted for 4.1% and 3.4% of second-quarter imports, respectively.

The top five supplier countries together made up 91% of batteries imported in the second quarter.

South Korean battery companies topped the ranks of largest shippers to the US in the second quarter, according to data from Panjiva.

That included LG Energy Solution Ltd. and Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., both of which have factories in Asia, North America and Europe, as well as Ace Engineering Co. Ltd.

LG Energy Solution and Samsung have been converting some of their EV battery manufacturing capacity in the US to produce lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells for energy storage.

On an earnings call in July, LG Energy Solution executives reiterated their effort to surpass 50 gigawatt-hours of LFP manufacturing capacity for energy storage at five facilities in North America by the end of 2026. That includes facilities in Spring Hill, Tennessee; Lansing and Holland, Michigan; Jeffersonville, Ohio; and Ontario.

Other leading shippers in the second quarter included Chinese battery suppliers Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. and Hongkong Hello Tech Energy Co. Ltd., Taiwan-based Delta Electronics Inc., Germany's Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Japan-headquartered Mazda Motor Corp. and Panasonic Holdings Corp.