Export orders last month rose 19.8 percent year-on-year to US$56.4 billion, marking the third month of consecutive increases and hitting the highest level for the month, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The rise accelerated from the 12.5 percent annual increase recorded in March and exceeded the 6.2 to 10.4 percent growth forecast by the ministry last month.
On a monthly basis, export orders — an indicator of product and component shipments to overseas markets over the following one to three months — increased 6.3 percent, the ministry said in a report.
Photo: CNA
The ministry attributed the stronger-than-expected performance to the steady demand for goods related to artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and cloud computing services, while the US’ temporary pause in implementing high tariffs also led customers to front-load goods in advance, it said.
For instance, export orders last month for electronic components increased 35 percent year-on-year, orders for information and communications technology (ICT) products grew 20 percent, and those for optoelectronic products gained 4.2 percent, the latest data showed.
However, the weak demand in some traditional industries and firms losing orders amid price competition from foreign peers offset part of the growth, the ministry said.
Export orders last month for plastic and rubber products decreased 8.8 percent year-on-year, and those for base metal products fell 11.1 percent, while orders for chemical products were flat from a year earlier and those for machinery goods increased 5.8 percent, the ministry’s data showed.
By destination, orders last month from Southeast Asia registered the largest annual increase of 32.8 percent, followed by a rise of 30.3 percent in orders from the US, the ministry said.
Orders from China, including Hong Kong, grew merely 5.7 percent year-on-year last month, compared with a rise of 10.5 percent in orders from Europe and 16.3 percent growth in orders from Japan, it said.
It said that in its recent poll of domestic manufacturers, only 11.4 percent said they were optimistic that export orders would increase this month from last month, while 48.8 percent said that orders would be flat and 39.8 percent expected them to decline.
In addition, the diffusion index of export orders — a gauge of manufacturers’ expectations on export orders for the following month — rose to 49.5 from 47.4 the previous month, but was below the threshold of 50, suggesting that manufacturers remain cautious, it said.
As a result, export orders this month are forecast to reach between US$55 billion and US$57 billion, representing from a monthly decrease of 2.5 percent to a monthly increase of 1.1 percent, and an annual increase of 12.5 to 16.6 percent, it said.
Last month’s export orders brought cumulative orders in the first four months of the year up 14.1 percent year-on-year to US$205.87 billion, ministry data showed.
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