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.
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