The nation’s export orders grew on a yearly basis for the fourth straight month to US$38.02 billion last month as robust demand for handsets continued driving orders for electronic components and also contract manufacturing services, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The ministry said steady global economic recovery and a low comparison base are also major causes for the consecutive growth in orders last month, as export performance is highly connected to the state of the global economy.
While orders increased 4.7 percent from US$36.33 billion during the same period of last year, they reflected a 2.2 percent drop from US$38.87 billion in April, ministry statistics showed.
Cumulative orders in the January-to-May period expanded 4.4 percent to US$181.64 billion from US$174.04 billion recorded in the same period of last year.
“Tech firms’ launch of new handset products that feature better specifications, but lower prices, are going to keep driving the market, which helps makers of electronic components sustain their growth in orders,” Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞), director of the ministry’s statistics department, told a press conference.
“Electronics are expected to remain a major driver of the nation’s export orders through the second half of the year, as demand for mobile devices remains vigorous in emerging markets,” she added.
Lin said orders for electronics — the nation’s top export item, covering semiconductors — increased 12.6 percent year-on-year to US$9.52 billion last month.
Orders for information and communication products — Taiwan’s No. 2 export item — rose 2.7 percent annually to US$9.48 billion, due largely to increased orders for PCs and computer peripherals, and also orders for contract handset manufacturing services, she said.
However, due to weaker-than-expected demand for panels used in flatscreen TVs and touch-enabled notebook computers, orders for precision equipment fell for 13 straight months by 11.8 percent year-on-year to US$2.68 billion last month.
Intense pricing competition initiated by Chinese and South Korean panelmakers was another major factor behind the drop, Lin said, adding that orders for precision equipment fell the most from China and Hong Kong — by up to US$230 million last month on a yearly basis.
Overall, China and Hong Kong together remain the nation’s top export destination, with orders totaling US$10.16 billion, followed by the US with US$9.3 billion, Europe with US$6.15 billion, ASEAN member countries with US$4.62 billion and Japan with US$3.2 billion.
For this month, Lin forecast orders would grow by more than 5 percent from US$35.09 billion a year ago.
According to the ministry’s survey, 20.3 percent of firms forecast orders would increase this month from last month, while 60 percent projected the volume would flatten and another 19.7 percent predicted a sequential drop.
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