The current economic situation makes no exceptions for sim racing: Danish hardware manufacturer Asetek Simsports has ceased shipping to the United States.
The import tariffs imposed by the U.S. government have been a hot topic everywhere you look in recent weeks. Chinese goods were affected particularly heavily, with the tariff reaching up to 145% - which meant numerous companies that rely on products that come from Chinese factories felt the effect.
Asetek SimSports is one of them. The hardware manufacturer is headquartered in Denmark, but will no longer ship to the United States as a result of the tariffs:
"Due to the tariffs, Asetek has ceased all SimSports shipments to the U.S. as well as major U.S.-based consumer electronics retailers have ceased purchasing from China, which effectively means that, at present, no sales are being made in the US market", reads an April 28 investor relations release.
Image: Asetek SimSports
The company does have a plan to at least mitigate these effects somewhat. As the release also highlights, Asetek anticipated a situation like this and "in response to potential additional tariffs on Chinese goods, Asetek began expanding its production capacity in Malaysia late last year. This geographic diversification provides Asetek with a relative advantage over competitors with greater exposure to China-based manufacturing."
Were you looking into buying Asetek gear and are affected by the cessation of shipments to the US? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our hardware thread.
The import tariffs imposed by the U.S. government have been a hot topic everywhere you look in recent weeks. Chinese goods were affected particularly heavily, with the tariff reaching up to 145% - which meant numerous companies that rely on products that come from Chinese factories felt the effect.
Asetek SimSports is one of them. The hardware manufacturer is headquartered in Denmark, but will no longer ship to the United States as a result of the tariffs:
"Due to the tariffs, Asetek has ceased all SimSports shipments to the U.S. as well as major U.S.-based consumer electronics retailers have ceased purchasing from China, which effectively means that, at present, no sales are being made in the US market", reads an April 28 investor relations release.
Image: Asetek SimSports
Half Of 2024's Sales Made In The US
"Asetek continues to focus on factors within its control. In 2024, approximately two-thirds of the Company’s production was based in China and one-third in Malaysia", the release continues. For Asetek, this is quite a big hit, as the release also explains that "in 2024, approximately 50% of total revenue in the SimSports segment was derived from sales to the U.S. market."The company does have a plan to at least mitigate these effects somewhat. As the release also highlights, Asetek anticipated a situation like this and "in response to potential additional tariffs on Chinese goods, Asetek began expanding its production capacity in Malaysia late last year. This geographic diversification provides Asetek with a relative advantage over competitors with greater exposure to China-based manufacturing."
Fanatec Increased Prices Already
Recently, Fanatec had already raised its prices for the North American market - including Canada - due to the tariffs. The brand's equipment also heavily relies on Chinese production. "These tariffs are effectively a tax on the importing company, in this situation, Fanatec, for any items we import from a tariffed region, like China, into the US. Those cost increases are far larger than anticipated and unfortunately required an increase to the MSRP of the product", read the brand's statement.Were you looking into buying Asetek gear and are affected by the cessation of shipments to the US? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our hardware thread.
