Electronics, machinery lift Taiwan’s August trade by 5.2%

TAIPEI - Taiwan’s export orders rose 5.2% on-year in August to US$38.21 billion, buoyed by booming global demand for mobile devices and machinery, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. “August marked the seventh consecutive month of growth” said Lin Lee-jen, Director-General of the MOEA Department of Statistics. “The dollar amount is another record high for the period.”

Lin attributed the upturn largely to a double-digit rise in demand for Taiwanese electronic products and services, as well as machinery. “The introduction of new handheld devices spurred business for Taiwan’s foundries, integrated circuit-makers and memory producers,” he said. “A warming global economy also boosted demand for production equipment.”
Orders for four of Taiwan’s seven major export sectors registered growth, with machinery leading the way at 17.4%, the fifth month of double-digit gain. Electronics surged 12.6%, maintaining a 15-month streak.
While orders for precision instruments—including display panels—dropped for the 16th month in a row, the decline narrowed to 1.4%, with those from mainland China posting a gain for the first time in 12 months.
Mainland China, including Hong Kong, remained the top source of orders, up 2.9% to US$10.16 billion. The U.S. was second with an increase of 5.1% to US$9.43 billion, followed by Europe, up 5.5% to US$6.33 billion.
Taiwan’s six major partners from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations came in fourth, but orders from the region posted strongest growth of 13.9%. Japan followed suit, continuing a 10-month trend.