The nation’s machine tool exports for the first four months fell 10.7 percent year-on-year, but the pace of the decline improved from 14.9 percent for the first three months, Taiwan Machine Tool and Accessory Builders’ Association (台灣工具機暨零組件公會) statistics showed on Friday.
Cumulative exports totaled US$627.4 million, compared with US$702.29 million a year earlier, the data showed.
Exports of metal-cutting machines fell 13 percent year-on-year to US$505.72 million, shipments of machining centers declined 11.1 percent to US$185.99 million and lathes saw a 21.7 percent decrease to US$132.9 million, while exports of metal-forming machines edged up 0.7 percent to US$121.68 million, it showed.
Photo:EPA-EFE
Machine tool exports to China, including Hong Kong — the sector’s largest export destination — fell 13.9 percent annually to US$176.08 million, shipments to the US, the second-largest market, declined 1.9 percent to US$102.39 million and exports to Turkey, the third-largest market, plunged 30.7 percent to US$46.73 million, the data showed.
Overall, machinery exports grew 4.7 percent year-on-year to US$9.41 billion, as increases in overseas shipments of inspection and testing equipment, and electronic equipment offset the fall in sales of machine tools, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (台灣機械公會) said in a report on Friday.
The US remained the largest buyer of Taiwanese machinery goods, at US$2.47 billion, followed by China and Japan at US$2.14 billion and US$767 million respectively, the association said.
While the overall machinery industry is slowly recovering, the impact of the US’ “reciprocal” tariffs on the global economy and end-market demand continue to cloud local manufacturers’ business outlook in the near term, it said.
The unfavorable exchange rate of the New Taiwan dollar would also further weigh on local manufacturers’ orders and negatively affect their profit performance, as the NT dollar had jumped 8.7 percent against the US dollar, compared with increases in other currencies, such as the won, yen and yuan, which had risen 4.5 percent, 2.5 percent and 0.5 percent respectively between April 4 and May 8, the association said.
The NT dollar’s exchange rate has become a far more important factor affecting Taiwanese manufacturers’ ability to secure orders, the association said, urging the government to help ease the local currency’s faster-than-peers appreciation in a timely manner.
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