Taiwan’s export orders gained 9.18 percent to US$37.36 billion last month from a year earlier, the first single-digit growth figure since February, as global demand for electronics moderated, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The figures are marginally lower than the market expectation of 10 percent growth, with momentum expected to recover this month onward as the technology sector enters the high season, analysts said.
“Last month saw export orders increase 9.18 percent year-on-year, but they declined 0.68 percent from a month earlier,” Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜), deputy director of the ministry’s statistics department, told a media briefing.
Export orders, a leading indicator used to project actual shipments for the ensuing one to three months, showed signs of a slowdown last quarter after hitting a record high in March at US$38.99 billion.
Orders from China increased a modest 4.78 percent year-on-year to US$9.43 billion last month because of continued inventory corrections, noticeably for flat panels, Tsai said.
Orders from the US, the world’s largest end-market for communications products, rose 16.52 percent to a record high of US$8.81 billion, staying above the US$8 billion mark for a fourth consecutive month, Tsai said.
US firms placed aggressive orders for smartphones and tablets despite the nation’s high unemployment rate, Tsai said.
“The latest data further showed the nation is heavily dependent on China and the US for export orders with an over-concentration in electronic and telecommunications products,” she said.
Orders from Europe expanded 19.19 percent to US$6.68 billion last month from the year-earlier level, while orders from Southeast Asia picked up 19.59 percent to US$3.98 billion, the ministry’s report said.
Orders from Japan dropped 15.95 percent to US$3.59 billion from the same period last year, as the country has yet to emerge from the effects of the devastation of March 11.
By product breakdown, orders for telecommunications products gained 11.85 percent year-on-year to US$9.56 billion last month, followed by electronics at US$8.67 billion, the report said.
Tsai said she is upbeat export orders will improve this quarter, the high season for electronics.
Tony Phoo (符銘財), Taipei-based economist at Standard Chartered Bank, echoed the optimism.
“Overall demand for Taiwan’s technology products is holding up, boding well for the sector’s outlook into the second half,” Phoo said, adding that demand from the US had rebounded strongly.
Australian banking group ANZ said new consumer electronics products will offer healthy support during the back-to-school and Thanksgiving seasons, despite a slowdown in the past few months.
“We remain positive about Taiwan’s economic outlook in the medium term,” ANZ said.
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