Export orders last month expanded 11.7 percent annually to US$58.87 billion, as the alleviation of a component shortage helped boost orders, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Last month’s export orders were the best on record for January, the ministry said.
They also marked the 23rd consecutive month of growth, the nation’s longest growth streak for orders, it added.
Photo: CNA
The ministry attributed the growth to continuing robust demand for 5G-related and high-performance computing applications as well as automotive devices.
The figure is in line with the ministry’s estimate of US$58.5 billion to US$60 billion. On a monthly basis, export orders contracted 13.3 percent from US$67.9 billion in December.
“January export orders matched our expectations. It is not easy for the nation’s exporters to see such a long growth steak, as they benefited from strong demand for emerging technologies and continuing uptrend in commodity prices,” Department of Statistics Director Huang Yu-ling (黃于玲) said by telephone.
Growth is expected to carry into this month, underpinned by stable economic expansion worldwide and local manufacturers’ technological leadership, particularly by chipmakers, Huang said.
“We are looking at growth in export orders this month on an annual basis, meaning that the seasonal weakness might be milder than before in the first quarter of the year,” Huang said, citing a survey conducted by the ministry.
During the weak season, growth in export orders is expected to decelerate to 5.6 to 9.2 percent year-on-year, Huang said.
With the COVID-19 pandemic being gradually brought under control, demand for information and communications technology (ICT) products has continued to rise this month, but that could still translate into a weaker growth figure due to a high comparison base and fewer working days, she said.
Last month, ICT product orders rose 3.9 percent year-on-year, but slumped 27.5 percent monthly, to US$15.69 billion, driven by robust demand for laptop computers and networking devices, the ministry’s data showed.
The monthly decline was due to soft demand following the end of the holiday shopping season.
Orders for electronics products jumped 13.5 percent year-on-year, but fell 11.2 percent month-on-month, to US$19.22 billion, mainly fueled by increased demand for 5G devices, high-performance computing devices and automotive electronics, the ministry said.
Growing demand for laptop computers also drove up demand for computer displays, as well as the foundry and chip design sectors, it said.
Electronics and ICT products, two major pillars of the nation’s export orders, both beat the seasonal downtrend, which usually begins at the end of a year.
Orders for optoelectronics products grew 0.4 percent year-on-year, but fell 10.1 percent month-on-month, to US$24.5 billion, attributable to continued declines in TV display prices, the ministry said.
Orders for basic metals, mainly steel, soared 36.1 percent annually and rose 0.1 percent monthly to US$3.3 billion, on the back of infrastructure projects, with the biggest increase coming from Europe at US$350 million, leading to price hikes in steel products.
Machine tool orders climbed 10 percent year-on-year and 5.1 percent month-on-month to US$2.38 billion, as rapid capacity expansion by semiconductor manufacturers fueled demand for machinery equipment and automation equipment, with the largest increase being US$80 million from the US.
Orders for plastics products rose 12.1 percent annually, but fell 3 percent monthly, to US$2.61 billion, thanks to strong demand and higher crude oil prices.
Orders for petrochemical products surged 32.6 percent year-on-year and 3 percent month-on-month to US$2.29 billion, as global crude oil prices continued to increase.
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