The nation’s machinery exports grew 18.4 percent year-on-year to US$3.305 billion last month, the 18th consecutive monthly increase, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry reported on Monday.
The increase was lifted mainly by shipments of electronic equipment, which grew 35.6 percent to US$709.5 million, amid strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and semiconductors, the association said in a report.
Machine tools posted an 8.8 percent increase from a year earlier, but their shipments of US$178 million were relatively low compared with other product categories, as the New Taiwan dollar exchange rate was unfavorable for Taiwanese firms’ competitiveness, it said.
Photo: EPA
Overall, Taiwan’s machinery exports in the first seven months of this year reached US$21.101 billion, up 19.1 percent from a year earlier, while machine tool shipments fell 1.5 percent to US$1.156 billion during the same period, association data showed.
The US remained the largest buyer of Taiwanese machinery products in the first seven months, with purchases worth US$5.439 billion, accounting for 25.8 percent of exports.
China ranked second, with purchases of US$4.453 billion for a 21.1 percent share of exports. Singapore followed with purchases of US$1.587 billion and accounting for 7.5 percent of the total, the data showed.
Taiwan’s machinery industry has maintained steady growth at the start of the second half of the year, as strong demand for semiconductors and AI servers boosted shipments of electronic equipment and inspection and testing equipment, the association said.
However, political issues and regulatory policies in some countries, such as high-tech and rare earth controls, have gradually impacted global supply chains and could weigh on Taiwanese manufacturers’ order visibility and export outlook, which warrants further observation, it said.
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