Taiwan’s export orders grew 8.3 percent annually to US$37.93 billion last month, ending 16 straight months of annual decline, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said yesterday.
“The better-than-expected result was mainly driven by the strong orders for electronics components because of Apple Inc’s new iPhone launch,” Department of Statistics Director-General Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞) told a news conference.
The latest figure was US$2 billion more than the ministry’s estimate, Lin added.
Orders for electronics components jumped 16.5 percent year-on-year and 11.8 percent month-on-month to a record level of US$10.44 billion last month, the ministry’s statistics showed.
Orders for semiconductor products, packaging and testing services, and passive components also saw a significant increase due to the iPhone 7 launch, Lin said.
Better-than-expected demand for notebook computers helped boost orders for information technology and communication products to US$10.52 billion, up 6.6 percent annually and 10.1 percent monthly, she said.
Orders for basic metal products reported their first annual growth in the past 21 months, up 10.7 percent to US$2.06 billion, thanks to inventory buildup of steel products, she said.
Orders for precision instrument goods showed an annual decline of 6.9 percent, but the pace narrowed July’s 12.5 percent fall because of higher flat panel demand, she added.
Machinery orders expanded by 10.6 percent year-on-year, while both plastic and petrochemical goods saw their orders end 24 months of annual decline.
US orders increased by 15.1 percent annually and 8.6 percent monthly to US$10.92 billion on the back of the new iPhone launch, while orders from China (including Hong Kong) surged 12.8 percent year-on-year and 11.2 percent month-on-month to US$9.77 billion, supported by smartphones, notebooks and panels demand.
As Apple started shipping its new iPhones from Friday last week, Taiwan’s export orders are expected to continue rising this month.
They could reach a range of between US$41.5 billion and US$43 billion, which would be an annual growth of between 0.48 percent and 4.11 percent, Lin said.
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