Machinery exports fell 1.8 percent year-on-year to US$6.74 billion last quarter as global economic activity remained tepid and companies were conservative about capital spending, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry said yesterday.
The struggle among local machinery manufacturers to resume growth momentum continued amid macroeconomic headwinds at a time when overseas sales in other sectors lifted overall exports 12.9 percent year-on-year to US$110.33 billion in the first quarter, Ministry of Finance data released on Wednesday showed.
However, rising demand for high-performance computers and artificial intelligence applications, as well as for advanced technologies to reduce carbon emissions and achieve digital transformation, are expected to support investment momentum in the manufacturing sector and enable machinery exports to gradually resume growth in the next few quarters, the association said in a report.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Taiwan’s major machinery exports comprise mainly machine tools, inspection and testing equipment, and electronic equipment, which respectively accounted for 7.9 percent, 16.8 percent and 15.4 percent of overall machinery exports in the first quarter, the report said.
In the January-to-March period, machine tool exports declined 10 percent annually to US$531 million, overseas shipments of inspection and testing equipment rose 3.4 percent to US$1.13 billion and electronic equipment increased 3.4 percent to US$1.04 billion, it said.
The US and China were the two largest buyers of Taiwanese machinery in the first quarter, at US$1.65 billion and US$1.55 billion respectively, followed by Japan, with purchases totaling US$524 million, it said.
Purchases from the US, China and Japan accounted for 24.5 percent, 22.9 percent and 7.8 percent respectively of Taiwan’s total machinery exports in the quarter, it added.
The Chinese market is likely to recover gradually, judging by firms’ participation at the China CNC Machine Tool Fair in Shanghai this week, the association said.
However, local machinery makers are still cautious about their business this month, with 33.9 percent of association members expecting an increase in orders and 45 percent expecting no change, it said.
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