Export orders surged 65.9 percent year-on-year to US$91.12 billion last month, driven by strong demand for information and communications technology (ICT) products amid an artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing boom, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The figure marked a record high for a single month and the first time it exceeded US$90 billion, the ministry said, adding that it was also the 14th consecutive month of annual growth, surpassing the ministry’s estimate of about US$78 billion.
Export orders in the first quarter soared 50 percent year-on-year to US$231.91 billion, marking a record high for a single quarter, ministry data showed.
Photo: CNA
The better-than-expected performance last month was driven by strong demand for ICT and electronic components, fueled by robust global appetite for AI applications, despite a high comparison base last year, Department of Statistics Director-General Huang Wei-jie (黃偉傑) told a news conference in Taipei.
As the transition between old and new server products is largely complete, orders for new products also began to be reflected in last month’s figures, he said.
Export orders this month are expected to rise 47.3 to 50.7 percent year-on-year to between US$87 billion and US$89 billion, Huang said.
Orders in the first four months of this year are expected to grow 49.3 to 50.2 percent to between US$318.9 billion and US$320.9 billion, he added.
More orders are expected in the second quarter, after the first defied the weak-season trend this year on robust AI demand, Huang said.
While tensions in the Middle East pose downside risks to global demand, Taiwan has been cushioned by its role in the AI supply chain, he said.
Citing reports from the IMF and the Asian Development Bank, Huang said that Taiwan’s economic outlook has been revised upward even as global growth forecasts were downgraded by international research institutes, reflecting the “moat” effect of AI-driven demand.
Last month, orders for electronic components rose 73.7 percent year-on-year to US$36.71 billion, driven by growing adoption of emerging technologies that boosted IC production, as well as orders for IC distributors and memory chips, the ministry said.
Orders for ICT products surged 120.9 percent to US$34.28 billion on solid demand for servers and networking devices, along with new notebook computer launches, while orders for optoelectronic products rose 4.2 percent to US$2.03 billion, the data showed.
Traditional industries also reported improving order momentum last month, driven by growth in demand for semiconductor and automation equipment, as well as a surge in global energy prices amid Middle East tensions, Huang said.
Orders for machinery products were up 20.8 percent to US$2.05 billion, he said.
Base metal orders rose 2.9 percent to US$2.2 billion, supported by a rebound in steel demand, and rising demand for copper and copper-clad laminate amid expanding AI applications, while chemical product orders increased 14.7 percent to US$1.67 billion, driven by growing demand from the medical and semiconductor industries, he said.
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