Export orders last month grew for the eighth straight month at an annual rate of 4.9 percent, benefiting from rising demand for advanced chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) applications, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Export orders expanded to US$55.45 billion last month, compared with US$52.87 billion a year earlier and marking the strongest level since September 2022, ministry data showed.
In the first 10 months, accumulated export orders totaled US$484.35 billion, up 3.8 percent annually, the data showed.
Photo: CNA
Orders for electronic products, including semiconductors, registered the fastest annual growth of 11.2 percent last month to US$20.91 billion, marking the best October performance. Orders for the US market surged 12.6 percent annually to US$19.15 billion, making it the fastest growing market in the month, the ministry said.
“Last month’s performance matched our expectations, mostly driven by the electronics segment, or mostly advanced chips. For the full year, we expect export orders to return to the annual growth path,” Department of Statistics Director Huang Yu-ling (黃于玲) said.
“What is more, the traditional industries are recovering, too, as reflected in last month’s figures. Their growth may look mild, but the uptrend is confirmed,” she added.
Export orders this month are expected to grow between 4.7 percent and 8.6 percent year-on-year to between US$53 billion and US$55 billion, the ministry said.
That would represent a sequential reduction of between 0.8 percent and 4.4 percent, in line with seasonal patterns, the ministry said.
“Advanced chips and AI servers are the growth drivers,” Huang said.
Information and communications technology products last month saw orders rise 0.5 percent annually to US$17.58 billion as strong demand for AI and cloud-based applications fueled demand for servers and networking equipment, the ministry said.
Orders for optronic products shrank 0.7 percent to US$1.66 billion last month, due to falling prices of TV display panels, but those for base metals advanced 7.4 percent to US$2.13 billion, thanks to rising demand for steel products, it said.
Orders for machinery products and mechanical equipment rose 5 percent to US$1.54 billion last month, primarily driven by robust demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and automation systems, the ministry said, adding that orders for machine tools dipped.
Orders for plastic and rubber products edged higher by 1.8 percent to US$1.54 billion last month attributable to the growth of rubber material and gloves, while plastic raw material demand sank due to competition from global rivals, the ministry said.
Chemical orders climbed 3.9 percent to US$1.39 billion last month, benefiting from rising demand for medicine and electronic chemicals, but petrochemical orders dropped on lower prices, it said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, booked its first-ever profit from its Arizona subsidiary in the first half of this year, four years after operations began, a company financial statement showed. Wholly owned by TSMC, the Arizona unit contributed NT$4.52 billion (US$150.1 million) in net profit, compared with a loss of NT$4.34 billion a year earlier, the statement showed. The company attributed the turnaround to strong market demand and high factory utilization. The Arizona unit counts Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc among its major customers. The firm’s first fab in Arizona began high-volume production
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: The Japanese company is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence linchpins Nvidia Corp and TSMC Softbank Group Corp agreed to buy US$2 billion of Intel Corp stock, a surprise deal to shore up a struggling US name while boosting its own chip ambitions. The Japanese company, which is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence (AI) linchpins Nvidia Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), is to pay US$23 a share — a small discount to Intel’s last close. Shares of the US chipmaker, which would issue new stock to Softbank, surged more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. Softbank’s stock fell as much as 5.4 percent on Tuesday in Tokyo, its
COLLABORATION: Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture would make AI data center equipment, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) would operate a US factory owned by Softbank Group Corp, setting up what is in the running to be the first manufacturing site in the Japanese company’s US$500 billion Stargate venture with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. Softbank is acquiring Hon Hai’s electric-vehicle plant in Ohio, but the Taiwanese company would continue to run the complex after turning it into an artificial intelligence (AI) server production plant, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said yesterday. Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture between the two companies would make AI data
The Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show, which is to be held from Wednesday to Saturday at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, would showcase the latest in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven robotics and automation technologies, the organizer said yesterday. The event would highlight applications in smart manufacturing, as well as information and communications technology, the Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association said. More than 1,000 companies are to display innovations in semiconductors, electromechanics, industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing, it said in a news release. Visitors can explore automated guided vehicles, 3D machine vision systems and AI-powered applications at the show, along
RSS