Export orders last month again defied expectations by increasing 2.3 percent year-on-year to US$38.53 billion amid robust demand for information and communications technology (ICT) products and electronics, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
“Due to COVID-19 lockdowns, market demand for laptops and tablets, as well as servers and other electronic devices, remained strong... Stronger than our previous predictions,” Department of Statistics Director Huang Yu-ling (黃于玲) told a news conference in Taipei.
The ministry in March had forecast a 6.37 to 10.34 percent annual decline in export orders for last month.
Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei Times
Different from customs-cleared exports, export orders are a gauge of how actual exports are likely to perform in one to three months, the ministry said.
Orders for ICT products last month surged 18.6 percent to a record-high US$12.49 billion, with the largest contributors being Europe (36.3 percent) and the US (35.6 percent), ministry data showed.
“Orders from the US, our biggest [overall] customer last month, totaled US$10.95 billion [in all categories combined], a record high,” Huang said, adding that orders from Europe also hit a record high of US$8.25 billion.
Demand due to teleworking and distance learning last month continued to buoy orders for ICT products, while orders for electronics rose at a similar pace, increasing 16.2 percent to US$11.29 billion, the data showed.
“Demand for foundry services, ICs and passive components increased thanks to the accelerating deployment of 5G technologies and high-performance computing,” Huang said, adding that China and Hong Kong were the main contributors, placing up to 39.5 percent of total electronics orders.
Export orders for optoelectronics increased 5.3 percent to US$1.85 billion thanks to healthy demand for backlight modules, ending 17 consecutive months of annual declines, the data showed.
However, growth was curtailed by low display panel prices and sluggish orders for camera lenses, as a global economic slowdown worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic dampened demand for smartphones, Huang said.
Export orders for traditional goods last month also plummeted, with orders for chemical products; rubber and plastic products; base metal products; and machinery equipment recording double-digit percentage declines from a year earlier, the data showed.
“Last month was really one of the worst months for traditional industries... First the [COVID-19] pandemic, which dimmed market sentiment, then a plunge in crude oil prices,” Huang said.
“Perhaps we will see some recovery in orders for chemical, rubber and plastics products if oil prices continue to rally in the coming months,” Huang said, adding that orders for base metal products and machinery equipment might also rebound due to rising Chinese investments in infrastructure.
Based on the ministry’s latest survey of local firms, export orders this month are expected to either decline 1.9 percent year-on-year or increase 2 percent to between US$38 billion and US$39.5 billion.
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