January export orders up 8.1 percent in Taiwan

2015-03-05

Taiwan’s export orders rose 8.1 percent year on year in January to a record US$39.04 billion for the period, bolstered by heightened global demand for electronics, information and communications technology products, and machinery.

January marked the 12th consecutive month of growth, with double digit gains in the three major export items accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total. Of the trio, orders for ICT products and electronics surged 19.7 percent to US$11.14 billion and 14.1 percent to US$10.14 billion, respectively, with those from Europe and the U.S. posting the strongest showings.

Lin Lee-jen, director-general of the MOEA Department of Statistics, said orders for machinery also rose 16.1 percent as a result of expanding investment in the U.S. and mainland China, as well as increased demand from Taiwan firms operating offshore. “Export orders have been increasing for 12 months in row and we are bullish on the prospects of this trend remaining unbroken in the near term.”

But orders for chemicals and rubber and plastic products decreased 11.9 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, as global commodity and oil prices continued to fall.

Basic metals did not perform well, either, down 4.6 percent due to the anti-dumping investigation in Europe and slump in worldwide demand. Precision instruments, including display panels, dropped another 2.3 percent during the period due to stiff price competition.

The U.S. remained the leading source of orders, up 24.7 percent to US$10.7 billion, or 27.4 percent of the total. This was followed by mainland China and Hong Kong at US$9.37 billion, up 3.9 percent from a year ago.

Orders from Europe also reported an impressive gain of 16.8 percent to US$8.55 billion, while those from Taiwan’s six major trading partners from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations increased 6.3 percent to US$4.17 billion.

Japan was the only market posting an annual decrease. Its drop of 22.6 percent was the fifth negative result in a row, largely stemming from near-30 percent declines in orders for electronics and ICT products.

Lin expects export orders to pick up steam in February despite fewer working days in the month because of the Lunar New Year holiday period. “The introduction of more new wearable products and applications from the Internet of Things will provide more growth opportunities for Taiwan’s key sectors,” she said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=227907&CtNode=413)