The resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven a renewed demand for ventilators in the U.S. Earnings call commentary from ResMed Inc., Getinge AB and Danaher Corp. provides some evidence, with all three reporting markedly increased revenues for the fourth quarter of 2020.

ResMed CFO Brett Sandercock noted: "Mask and accessories have continued to demonstrate resilience and growth over the past 3 months, reflecting the insulating value of the large patient installed base and the success of our resupply service offerings" that likely hinge on increased supply. 

Ventilator manufacturers also streamlined their supply chains over the pandemic as well, allowing greater flexibility, as Mattias Perjos, CEO of Getinge, stated: "I think we've learned a lot from the ventilation ramp-up in the beginning of 2020 and have learned to work with a large — a higher degree of transparency in the supply chain."

Importers face the same pressures on logistics costs, discussed in Panjiva's research of Feb. 2, seen by other industries as well, with Danaher CFO Matthew McGrew alluding to increased logistics costs. "We are starting to see a little bit of inflationary pressure, particularly around kind of freight and a little bit in the supply chain as well," McGrew said.

Panjiva's analysis shows that U.S. imports of ventilators increased 40.5% year over year in the three months to Nov. 30, 2020, led by a 216.9% surge in shipments from Europe, while those from China increased 47.8% over the same period.

Panjiva's U.S. seaborne import data shows shipments linked to ResMed increased 13.2% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2020 to reach 1,008 20-foot equivalent units. Getinge, whose associated U.S. seaborne imports increased 24.3% year over year in the same quarter, imported mostly from Europe, which accounted for 56.7% of the company's imports. Danaher saw imports rise by 7.5% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2020, with China accounting for 38.4% of the total and Germany a further 19.8%.

Eric Oak is a researcher at Panjiva, which is a business line of S&P Global Market Intelligence, a division of S&P Global Inc. This content does not constitute investment advice, and the views and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of S&P Global Market Intelligence. Links are current at the time of publication. S&P Global Market Intelligence is not responsible if those links are unavailable later.