Taiwan’s machinery exports last month fell 21.7 percent year-on-year, dropping for a 12th straight month, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry said in a report yesterday.
The decline was in line with the extended contraction in the nation’s overall outbound shipments, which fell 10.4 percent annually during the same period.
Machinery exports totaled US$2.65 billion last month, down from US$3.38 billion a year earlier, data compiled by the association showed.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
However, on a monthly basis, machinery exports increased 11.04 percent from US$2.38 billion, the data showed.
The association attributed the annual contraction last month to manufacturers remaining conservative about investment amid a global economic slowdown.
China’s weaker-than-expected economic recovery and US interest rate hikes also weighed on Taiwanese exports, as the two countries are Taiwan’s largest export markets, it said.
Orders received by local machinery makers started to shrink in August last year when global demand slowed, but last month’s annual decline in exports was smaller than June’s 22.5 percent contraction, the association said.
Furthermore, overseas shipments of inspection and testing equipment, electronic equipment and machine tools were higher than the previous month, indicating that demand for such products remains rigid and the impact of inventory destocking is decreasing, it added.
In the first seven months of the year, machinery exports slid 19.4 percent year-on-year to US$17.01 billion, the association’s data showed.
The US was the largest buyer of Taiwanese machinery products in the first seven months, with purchases totaling US$4.09 billion, accounting for 24 percent of Taiwanese exports.
China ranked second, with purchases totaling US$3.94 billion for a 23.1 percent share of Taiwanese exports.
In third place was Japan, with purchases totaling US$1.38 billion and accounting for 8.1 percent of the total, the data showed.
The association said that it is cautiously optimistic about the industry’s near-term outlook, as manufacturing investment enters its peak season and inventory adjustment gradually comes to an end.
Replacement demand on the back of the global energy-saving and carbon-reduction trends should also drive the industry, it said.
The government’s policy to stimulate domestic demand should further boost order momentum for local machinery makers, the association said.
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