Export orders last month tumbled 5.5 percent year-on-year to US$51.9 billion as lockdowns in major Chinese cities weakened demand for most categories, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
It is the first time in two years that the gauge of actual shipments in the following one to three months has slipped into contraction, which was induced by supply chain bottlenecks after China halted business activity in Shanghai and Kunshan, home to major manufacturing facilities of Taiwanese companies.
Department of Statistics Director Huang Yu-ling (黃于玲) said export orders this month might decline by US$51.7 billion to US$53.2 billion, or a 1.1 percent decline to a 1.7 percent uptick, after China this week introduced gradual reopenings.
Photo: CNA
The slowdown is most conspicuous for information and communications products, which slumped 21.5 percent to US$1.21 billion as sales for laptops and smartphones floundered, Huang said.
The ominous cyclical movement came after the US and Europe opted to coexist with COVID-19, and showed less dependence on remote working and schooling products, the ministry said in a report.
The digital transformation has continued, fueling demand for networking devices and severs, it said.
That helped explain why export orders for electronics bucked the downtrend with a 4.3 percent increase as demand in the US and in Southeast Asian markets remained strong, although it slackened in China, it said.
The lackluster showing in the Chinese market was probably due to supply chain disruptions, it said.
Orders for optical products were the most affected, with demand for flat panels used in TVs and personal computers faltering, putting pressure on selling prices, the statement said.
Demand for base metals and machinery equipment fell 8.8 percent and 11.6 percent respectively as customers in China, the US and other countries turned conservative about capital investment, the ministry said.
Export orders for plastic products dropped 7.3 percent as demand for disease prevention products subsided, it said.
Chemical products gained 14.5 percent, continuing to benefit from the war in Ukraine, which has pushed up international energy and petrochemical product prices, even as China’s lockdowns weighed on demand in some markets, it said.
Orders from the US, China, Europe and Japan softened by 0.2 percent to 17 percent, but picked up 22.7 percent in ASEAN markets, the ministry said in the statement.
Companies expect flattish business with a mild upside in order value for this month, the ministry’s survey showed.
For the first four months of this year, export orders totaled US$225.02 billion, an increase of 10.4 percent from the same period last year, it said.
Semiconductor stocks on Friday took a beating after a grim profit warning from Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc sparked fresh worries about the US’ earnings power as the country is potentially heading for a recession. Despite a broader stock market rally, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index dropped 3.8 percent after Micron, the largest maker of memory semiconductors in the US, flagged that demand was cooling for chips used in computers and smartphones. The index — which is home to US chip giants Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Nvidia Corp, as well as Micron — is down 38 percent this year. Historically, semiconductor
WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY: Costco Wholesale said it expected the purchase of the remaining 45 percent stake to add 1 to 1.5 percent to its earnings per share US-based Costco Wholesale Corp on Thursday said that it had purchased the remaining 45 percent stake in Costco President Taiwan Inc (台灣好市多) for US$1.05 billion, making the local company a fully-owned unit. “We estimate that the purchase would add about 1 to 1.5 percent to [our] earnings per share,” Costco said in a statement. Costco President Taiwan was established as a joint venture with Kaohsiung-based President Group (大統集團), which held a 45 percent stake. Since the first Costco store opened in Kaohsiung in 1997, 14 outlets have been set up in Taiwan, company data showed. PROFITABLE Three Costco stores in Taiwan — in Taipei’s Neihu
SOARING PROFITS: Semiconductors and shipping have knocked automaking and construction out of the 10 highest paying industries, stock exchange data showed Mobile phone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) posted an average of NT$5.15 million (US$173,249) in annual compensation for non-managerial employees last year, marking the highest among all firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), exchange data showed. That is a 66 percent increase from the company’s average compensation of NT$3.08 million in 2020, as its earnings per share (EPS) expanded from NT$26.01 in 2020 to NT$70.56 last year. That is also three times higher than the average compensation of NT$1.7 million in the nation’s semiconductor industry, the data showed. The increases helped MediaTek advance its ranking from third in 2020, replacing
EXPANSION: The airline will offer two flights per week to Milan from Oct. 25, and four flights per week to Munich from Nov. 3 using its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday announced that it would begin nonstop flights from Taoyuan to Milan and Munich later this year, marking its first expansion in the European market in 25 years. Starting on Oct. 25, the airline will operate two flights per week between Taoyuan and Milan, implementing a plan that was scheduled for February 2020, but was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns across the world. The airline will also launch four weekly flights to Munich, Germany, on Nov. 3, it said. The schedules for the two flights will cater to in-transit passengers, as they will arrive