Taiwan’s export orders down for 13th straight month in November

Taipei-Total export orders received by Taiwan-based companies fell year-on-year in November for the 13th consecutive month amid stagnant global demand, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on Friday.

Total export orders declined US$3.15 billion, or 6.6 percent, from a year earlier to US$44.53 billion after a year-on-year drop of 3.5 percent in October, the figures showed.

On a month-on-month basis, export orders received in November fell US$2.74 billion, or 5.8 percent, from October, and they were still down on a seasonally adjusted basis by 3.5 percent, according to the figures.

For the first 11 months of the year, Taiwan's export orders totaled NT$440.77 billion, down 5.9 percent from a year earlier.

The ministry attributed the decline to ongoing trade friction between the United States and China, which it said has weakened global demand, lowered raw material prices, and hurt orders for non-tech products, such as base metal, plastics and chemical products.

In November, most sectors experienced year-on-year falls in export orders aside from the electronic components sector, which saw a 2.2 percent increase in orders from a year earlier to US$12.47 billion, the figures showed.

Within the sector, the wafer foundry, IC design and printed circuit board sectors benefited from rising demand for products related to emerging 5G communication, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said.

The growth was limited, however, by a fall in orders for passive components such as chip resistors, inductors and multi-layer ceramic capacitors, the ministry said.

Export orders received by the information and communications industry fell 8.1 percent from a year earlier to US$14.94 billion in November, hurt by a relatively high base of comparison and the later than usual release of new smartphone models by international brands.

The base metal, machinery, plastics/rubber, and chemical product sectors all saw export orders decline, falling 19.2 percent, 9.3 percent, 8 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively, to US$1.94 billion, US$1.67 billion, US$1.78 billion and US$1.6 billion in November, the figures showed.

Export orders from all major foreign markets suffered declines in November. Orders from the U.S. were down 4 percent year-on-year at US$13.88 billion, and orders from China and Hong Kong were down 1.2 percent at US$10.41 billion.

Declines in orders were also seen from Europe (US$9.58 billion, down 13.5 percent), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc (US$3.73 billion, down 9.5 percent), and Japan (US$2.34 billion, down 11.1 percent), the figures showed.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel