Exports last month grew 2 percent year-on-year to US$40.34 billion, weaker than an expected 8 to 12 percent increase, as demand for non-tech products declined and semiconductor shipments slowed, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said yesterday.
Export growth might contract this month, ending 26 months of annual expansion, as a COVID-19-spurred boom dies out and global recession fears escalate amid sharp inflation and monetary tightening, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said.
“Exports last month disappointed and are bound to miss the forecast by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics for this quarter,” Tsai told an online news conference.
Photo: CNA
The chilling effect apparently arrived one quarter earlier, after the statistics agency last month predicted that a slowdown in exports for five consecutive quarters would start next quarter.
Except for electronics, shipments contracted for most product categories, including information and communications technology (ICT), base metal, machinery, chemical, plastic and optical products, Tsai said.
Shipments of electronic goods gained 12 percent to US$17.05 billion, with semiconductor exports expanding 14.3 percent, thanks to demand from 5G, data centers, cloud computing, automotive and Internet-of-Things applications, she said.
ICT products reported the first decline of 1.6 percent in two years, while flat-panel exports plunged 35.7 percent, as benefits linked to remote working and distant schooling disappeared, she said.
Furthermore, concern has emerged over the business outlook for servers and cloud computing devices, Tsai said.
The upcoming release of Apple Inc’s new iPhone series and wearables helped boost business for their component suppliers and assemblers in Taiwan, but a slowing global economy remained a drag, she said.
Exports to China again faltered, retreating 9.9 percent, due in part to COVID-19 restrictions and power shortages, Tsai said.
Exports to the US and Europe eked out small gains of 2.3 percent and 2.6 percent respectively, as inflation and monetary tightening weighed on consumption, she said.
Exports to ASEAN markets advanced 17.6 percent, as companies shifted orders from China to manufacturing facilities in Southeast Asia, Tsai said.
Against this backdrop, exports this month could either shrink 3 percent or rise 1 percent, she said.
Imports also took a hit with a mild 3.5 percent increase to US$37.35 billion last month, giving Taiwan a trade surplus of US$2.99 billion, which is 13.7 percent lower than a year earlier, the ministry said.
Capital equipment imports shrank 2.2 percent as local firms turned cautious about capacity expansion.
For the first eight months of the year, exports increased 16.2 percent year-on-year to US$330.32 billion, while imports grew 20.9 percent to US$294.63 billion, ministry data showed.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in