Taiwan’s export orders in November decreased at the worst rate in more than a decade, caused by a plummet in China demand and generally weaker global consumer spending due to inflation and interest rate hikes.
Last month, the island’s export orders were $50.14 billion, 23.4% lower than the same period of last year. The contraction was higher than analysts’ expectations for a decline of 11.2%.
The decline in November was the sharpest one since March 2009 when orders fell 24.3%. November’s drop widened Taiwan’s contraction from 6.3% drop in October and also a third month to show an annual drop.
The telecoms products orders decreased by 30.5% from a year earlier on weaker consumer demand, especially with Covid controls in China.
The electronic products orders fell by 15.2%, though the decline was balanced by demand for chips, high-performance computing, automobiles and 5G.
The semiconductor demand and stockpiling of January’s Lunar New Year holiday in East Asia would help pushing for higher orders onward. However, there are uncertainties right around the corner after China eased Covid controls which could lead to more infections.
Taiwan’s orders from the United States dropped 16.7% from a year earlier, compared with a previous month’s jump of 1.2%.
Orders in Europe decreased 26.3% against an increase of 4.3% October’s annual, and Japan increased 5%.
