Taiwan’s exports to the US hit a record-high US$26.1 billion in the first seven months of this year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Finance on Thursday, mainly due to transferred orders caused by a spiraling trade spat between the US and China.
Exports to the US increased 18 percent year-on-year from January to last month, the data showed.
The ministry said that it witnessed outstanding performance from exports of data transmission and audio-visual products, which increased 56.4 percent year-on-year to US$8 billion, the highest since 2012.
Data transmission and audio-visual products contributed 30.5 percent of overall exports in the period, up from 23 percent in the same period last year, the data showed.
As firms continue to relocate manufacturing facilities to Taiwan, exports of electrical machines to the US increased twofold on an annual basis from January to last month and contributed 7.5 percent to overall exports, the ministry said, adding that the ratio remained level with the same period last year.
Exports of base metal and related products contributed 14.3 percent to overall exports, down from 16.4 percent last year, while machinery equipment and transportation tools also declined slightly, contributing 10.8 percent and 7.9 percent respectively, the data showed.
Imports from the US also hit a record-high US$21.3 billion in the period, increasing 10.4 percent year-on-year, the ministry said.
Imports of machinery equipment remained predominant across sectors thanks to an increase in semiconductor equipment, contributing 22.2 percent to overall imports, up from 21.7 percent in the same period last year, it said.
Imports of mineral products were second, contributing 16 percent to overall imports, up from 9.7 percent last year, the ministry said, pointing to a surge in imports of shale oil.
Other imports, such as electronic components and chemical products, declined, contributing 10.8 percent and 10.1 percent respectively to overall imports, the data showed, as the influx of ICs and polycrystalline silicon flagged.
Imports of transportation tools increased, contributing 6.8 percent to overall imports, up from 6.5 percent last year, the ministry said, adding that imports of airplanes also rose.
Taiwan’s trade surplus with the US totaled US$4.8 billion in the period, an increase of US$2 billion year-on-year, it said.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which supplies advanced chips to Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, yesterday reported NT$1.046 trillion (US$33.1 billion) in revenue for last quarter, driven by constantly strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, falling in the upper end of its forecast. Based on TSMC’s financial guidance, revenue would expand about 22 percent sequentially to the range from US$32.2 billion to US$33.4 billion during the final quarter of 2024, it told investors in October last year. Last year in total, revenue jumped 31.61 percent to NT$3.81 trillion, compared with NT$2.89 trillion generated in the year before, according to
RSS