The nation’s machinery exports in the first two months of this year rose 1.4 percent year-on-year, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI, 台灣機械公會) said in a report yesterday.
The association released the data for the first two months to avoid distortions from the week-long Lunar New Year holiday — which was mostly in January this year, but was in February last year — when many businesses and factories were closed.
Taiwan’s machinery exports are mainly comprised of inspection and testing equipment, electronic equipment and machine tools. Overseas shipments totaled US$4.37 billion in January and last month, up from US$4.3 billion in the same period last year, data compiled by the association showed.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The performance echoed the latest purchasing managers’ index for Taiwan’s manufacturing sector, which suggested an improvement in local firms’ operations on the back of more orders, higher production capacity and inventory growth, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (中華經濟研究院) said on Wednesday last week.
The latest data showed overseas shipments of inspection and testing equipment increased 2.5 percent annually to US$756 million, while electronic equipment shipments rose 14 percent to US$730 million during the first two months.
Exports of machine tools in the first two months declined 18.9 percent year-on-year to US$273 million, with metal-cutting machine tools exports falling 22.2 percent to US$215 million and metal-forming machinery sliding 3.6 percent to US$57.18 million, which was attributed to weak demand.
As many Taiwanese firms received orders and buyer inquiries during the Taipei International Machine Tool Show last week, the association said it maintains a cautiously optimistic view of the segment going forward.
The US and China remained the two largest buyers of Taiwanese machinery products in the first two months at US$1.19 billion and US$923 million respectively, the association said.
The US accounted for 27.2 percent of the nation’s total exports, followed by China at 21.1 percent and Japan at 8.6 percent, whose total purchases reached US$374 billion, the report showed.
Taiwan’s machinery exports to China fell by 1 percent in the first two months, while those to the US rose 8.7 percent, the report said.
Although machinery products might not be directly affected by US President Donald Trump’s trade policies, indirect impacts would be inevitable, as US tariffs could trigger a global trade war, the association said.
GREAT SUCCESS: Republican Senator Todd Young expressed surprise at Trump’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running. The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS