The decline in exports deepened to 14.8 percent year-on-year to US$23.93 billion last month, falling by the fastest pace in six years, as demand in all trade partners fell for almost all product categories amid a global slowdown, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
It is the third consecutive month of double-digit decline this year, a worrying sign last seen during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 that drove the nation’s export-reliant economy into a recession.
“Lower crude oil prices can no longer be blamed for the contraction in both volume and prices,” Department of Statistics Director-General Yeh Maan-tzwu (葉滿足) said.
Rather, the soft global economy has sapped exports worldwide without any sign of stabilization in sight, she said.
Imports also fell,with a 16.7 percent slump to US$19.97 billion last month, from a year earlier, creating a trade surplus of US$3.96 billion, the ministry’s monthly report showed.
The double-digit percentage decline in outbound shipments cut across all trade partners except the US — to which exports dropped 6 percent, the report said.
iPHONE BOUNCE delayed
That means that the much-expected inventory building prior to tomorrow’s expected launch of the new iPhone model has yet to materialize, if it does at all, Yeh said.
Electronics shipments, which accounted for 34.2 percent of all exports, declined 11.4 percent to US$8.18 billion last month, the report said, as inventory adjustments lingered.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, recently said the adjustment is about to end, but chip packagers Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體) and Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) said the process might take longer.
CHINA EXPORTS
Exports to China, Taiwan’s largest export market, tumbled 16.6 percent to US$9.32 billion last month, the report said, as the market struggles to curb a slowdown and reduce its dependence on foreign exporters.
Shipments to ASEAN shrank 18.9 percent last month and the ministry cited oil-price declines as the main reason.
Exports of oil-related products dropped 5.6 percentage points from total shipments with mineral and chemical exports retreating 45.8 percent and 21.2 percent respectively from levels seen during the same period last year, the report said.
modest base
Yeh said that a 15.5 percent downturn for basic metal and related products are further signs of weakening of global demand.
The ministry expects the contraction in year-on-year export data to narrow this month, given the modest comparison base from last year.
Poor exports should not hurt GDP growth further this quarter, because of a decline in the New Taiwan dollar against the greenback that is set to allow exporters to book noticeable foreign exchange gains, KGI Securities said.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
RSS