Exports last month climbed 4.5 percent year-on-year to US$40.57 billion, the best performance for the same month on record, thanks to robust demand from artificial intelligence (AI) applications and the launch of new-generation smartphones, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
The figures marked the 11th straight month of annual expansion, albeit moderating from August’s 16.8 percent increase, as demand for non-tech products lost traction, the ministry said.
“The global economy has seen a wobbly and uneven recovery, but AI investment from US firms remains robust,” benefiting Taiwanese firms in their supply chains, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told an online news conference.
Photo: CNA
Tsai is looking at growth of 5.5 to 8.5 percent year-on-year for this month, backed by the high sales season for technology products.
Overseas sales of information and communications technology products — mainly AI servers and graphics processing units — spiked 24.8 percent to US$10.31 billion, the ministry’s monthly report showed.
AI-server suppliers Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), Wistron Corp (緯創) and Inventec Corp (英業達) yesterday all reported record-high monthly revenue for last month.
Outbound shipments of electronics, primarily advanced chips intended for high-performance computing and smartphones, rose 4.9 percent from a year earlier to US$17.06 billion, as the release of Apple Inc’s new iPhone series ramped up business at local providers of chips, camera lenses, printed circuit boards and other components.
By destination, shipments to the US soared 27.3 percent year-on-year, making it Taiwan’s second-largest trading partner, catching up with China, Tsai said.
Exports to China edged up 1.7 percent, as the vast economy struggles to revive sluggish domestic demand.
Operating conditions for non-technology sectors turned soft, the ministry said.
Exports of plastics, chemicals, minerals and transportation tools reported double-digit percentage declines, ending a brief recovery in August, it said.
A persistent supply glut continued to weigh on those sectors, Tsai said.
Imports advanced at a faster 17.3 percent pace to US$33.45 billion, giving Taiwan a trade surplus of US$7.12 billion, down 30.9 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said.
Inbound shipments increased mainly due to purchases of capital equipment and devices by local semiconductor firms, Tsai said.
Local companies imported high-bandwidth memory from South Korea for use in AI-related shipments, she said.
For the third quarter, exports grew 8.1 percent year-on-year to US$124.13 billion, beating the government’s forecast by 1.8 percentage points, Tsai said.
Imports expanded 15 percent to US$100.66 billion, missing the official projection by 0.28 percentage points, she said.
In the first nine months of the year, exports rose 10.2 percent from a year earlier to US$349.13 billion, while imports increased 10.1 percent to US$289.54 billion, the ministry said.
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