Taiwan reports record high export orders in 2014

2015-01-23

Taiwan’s export orders increased 6.7 percent to an all-time high of US$472.8 billion last year, on the back of booming demand for the country’s key products.

The strong showing is due to record number of orders for electronics, information communications technology products and machinery, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs Jan. 21.

Lin Lee-jen, director-general of the MOEA Department of Statistics, said the increasing popularity of mobile devices throughout the year continued to generate orders for Taiwan’s electronics and ICT products, which gained 12 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively.

“Orders for machinery also rose 11.6 percent during the year as a result of expanding investment in the U.S. and increased demand from Taiwan firms operating offshore,” Lin said, adding that export orders have been increasing for 11 months in row as of December.

Among orders for other key export products, basic metals picked up 3.9 percent, while chemicals and rubbers and plastic products inched down less than 1 percent.

In addition, orders for precision instrument, including display panels, dropped 6.3 percent as competition from mainland China stiffened.

For the first time since 2007, the U.S. replaced mainland China as the leading source of orders, up 7.2 percent to a record US$118.5 billion, or 25.1 percent of the total. The US$117.7 billion of orders from mainland China was also a new high and up 4.1 percent from a year ago.

Europe and Taiwan’s six major trading partners from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also recorded best-ever numbers, up 11.3 percent to US$91 billion and 10.5 percent to US$54.4 billion, respectively.

For the month of December, orders gained 4.5 percent to a second best US$44.2 billion, while those for ICT products scaled new heights. Orders from Europe and the U.S. were the highest and second highest to date.

Looking ahead, Lin said introduction of new wearable products, warming demand from emerging markets for budget-priced mobile devices, as well as the increasing popularity of 4G network services and the Internet of Things will provide more business opportunities for Taiwan’s ICT sector.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=226684&CtNode=413)