Exports of Taiwan-made machinery rose more than 5 percent in 2022 to hit a record high, though demand started to tail off in the second half of the year, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI) said Monday.

Taiwan's machinery exports totaled US$34.81 billion in 2022, up 5.1 percent from a year earlier, as solid demand for electronics production equipment and inspection and testing tools in the first half offset the second-half weakness, according to TAMI data.

In Taiwan dollar terms, exports of the local machinery industry rose 11.2 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.03 trillion, according to the TAMI.

Backed by its strong export performance, the local machinery industry had a production value of NT$1.45 trillion in 2022, also a new high, compared with NT$1.3 trillion in 2021, the TAMI's data showed.

In December alone, Taiwan's machinery exports fell 8.7 percent from a year earlier to US$2.73 billion, but the figure rose 4.9 percent on a month-on-month basis, the TAMI said.

The month-on-month gain indicated that Taiwanese machinery suppliers remained resilient and were still competitive on the global market, it said.

Exports of electronics production equipment led all machinery segments in 2022, rising 5.2 percent from a year earlier to US$5.08 billion, and accounted for 14.6 percent of total machinery exports, TAMI figures showed.

Next in line were exports of inspection and testing equipment, which rose 9.3 percent to US$4.92 billion for a 14.1 percent share, and of machine tools, which rose 8.6 percent to US$3.02 billion for an 8.7 percent share, TAMI figures showed.

By market, the TAMI said, China was the largest buyer of Taiwan's machinery, purchasing US$9 billion in goods, which accounted for 25.9 percent of Taiwan's total machinery exports.

The next two biggest export markets were the United States, which bought US$8.9 billion in machinery from Taiwan for a 25.6 percent share, followed by Japan, which had machinery imports from Taiwan worth US$2.13 billion, or 6.1 percent of the total, the TAMI said.

Taiwan machinery exports to China were down 12 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, but exports to the U.S. were up 21.1 percent, reflecting the efforts made by Taiwanese machinery exporters to diversify their markets and reduce their dependence on China, the trade group said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel