Export orders in the first quarter contracted 2.1 percent annually, the slowest rate in five quarters, to US$133.32 billion, benefiting from growing demand for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) chips and servers, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Performance in the January-to-March period met the ministry’s forecast of US$133.2 billion to US$135.2 billion, and order growth for this quarter could swing back to positive territory after a downcycle that started in the third quarter of 2022, the ministry said.
“We have seen a gradual improvement in quarterly contraction in export orders over the past quarters. The contraction in the first quarter was the smallest since the fourth quarter of 2022,” Department of Statistics Director Huang Yu-ling (黃于玲) said.
Photo: CNA
“Therefore, we believe that export orders would return to annual growth in the second quarter, fueled by growing demand for emerging technologies and restocking needs,” Huang added.
Two encouraging signs supported the ministry’s positive expectations, Huang said, referring to quarterly growth in electronics export orders last quarter and the optoelectronics segment’s third straight quarter of growth.
Export orders should register sequential growth in the remainder of the year after hitting a trough last quarter, she said.
This month, export orders are expected to expand at an annual rate of between 1.18 and 5.88 percent to between US$43 billion and US$45 billion, compared with US$42.5 billion in April last year, the ministry said.
The forecast did not factor in damage from an earthquake which measured a 7.2 on the Richter scale that hit Taiwan on April 3, Huang said.
Most companies expect damage to be manageable, he added.
Meanwhile, on a monthly basis, export orders are expected to drop between 4.58 and 8.82 percent this month, the ministry said.
Orders for electronic products surged 24.9 percent year-on-year to US$16.5 billion last month and expanded 8.2 percent annually to NT$47.16 billion last quarter, mainly driven by strong demand for AI-related applications and high-performance computing devices, it said.
Orders for information and communications technology (ICT) products last month jumped 27.2 percent annually to US$13.29 billion, as robust demand for AI applications and cloud-enabled devices boosted server shipments, the ministry said.
Last quarter, ICT orders declined 9.8 percent annually to US$37.64 billion.
Orders for optoelectronics products last month increased 11.8 percent year-on-year to US$1.71 billion, due to higher TV panel prices and increased demand for camera lenses, it said.
Optoelectronics orders last quarter grew 13.9 percent to US$4.7 billion from a year earlier.
Machinery orders dropped 13.9 percent year-on-year to US$1.66 billion last month, as manufacturers remained conservative about capital investment amid sluggish market demand, the ministry said.
Last quarter, machinery orders shrank 7.4 percent annually to US$4.59 billion.
Orders for base metals, including steel, sank 10.4 percent annually to US$2.23 billion last month and fell 2.1 percent to US$6.3 billion year-on-year last quarter. Plastic product orders declined 9.3 percent annually to US$1.65 billion last month, as prices dropped on overcapacity, and declined 1.8 percent year-on-year to US$4.64 billion in the first quarter.
Orders for petrochemical products dropped 2.2 percent annually last month to US$1.6 billion on lower prices and shrank 0.1 percent annually to US$4.44 billion in the quarter, ministry data showed.
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