Export orders unexpectedly returned to growth last month, rising 4.3 percent from a year earlier to US$40.26 billion (US$1.34 billion), as telecommuting and remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic boosted demand for notebook computers and related equipment, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The ministry had expected export orders to contract 10 percent last month, as stringent containment measures worldwide continue to weaken the global economy and dampen end-market demand.
On a monthly basis, orders last month jumped 40 percent from US$28.68 billion, thanks to quick resumption of production in China after it relaxed containment measures and transportation bans amid easing COVID-19 infections.
First-quarter export orders shrank 3.5 percent to US$104.24 billion from a year earlier, with petrochemical products slumping 15 percent, the ministry said.
“The export orders received by local manufacturers in March greatly surpassed their expectations. Most orders that were delayed from the previous month came back,” Department of Statistics Director Huang Yu-ling (黃于玲) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
“Besides, the pandemic propelled demand for notebook computers and communications products as work-from-home and online learning took off,” Huang said.
Despite the rebound in orders last month, the ministry expects orders to slide by between 6.37 and 10.34 percent to between US$33.8 billion and US$35.3 billion this month, compared with US$37.7 billion in April last year.
“The fallout from the pandemic remains a concern. Seasonal weakness is also a factor,” Huang said.
Last month, demand for smartphones and laptops helped orders for information and communications technology (ICT) products expand 6.9 percent to US$11.54 billion, Huang said.
Among the seven sub-categories, electronics products grew at the fastest pace of 23.8 percent annually to US$12.45 billion, primarily due to robust demand for advanced technologies from local contract chipmakers, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), amid ongoing 5G deployment and a shift to high-performance computing, the ministry said.
Other sub-categories all reported annual contractions in orders, as the pandemic curtailed demand.
Orders for optoelectronics products dropped 6 percent to US$1.82 billion last month, as lower flat-panel prices offset growth from smartphone camera lenses.
Orders for basic metals dropped 8.5 percent to US$2.03 billion last month, as the pandemic curbed demand for steel and drove down prices.
Petrochemical products also contracted 19.8 percent to US$1.47 billion as weak demand battered global crude oil prices.
Orders for machine tools and plastic products dropped 1.1 percent and 11.6 percent to US$1.8 billion and US$1.74 billion respectively, ministry data showed.
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