Taiwan August export orders hit record high value, strong AI demand leads

Taiwan export orders rose more than expected to a record monthly value in August, exceeding $100 billion for the first time, as the wave of AI demand continued to surge for the world's dominant supplier of AI chips and technology.

Here are some details from the economy ministry's statement released on Tuesday:

• Export orders in August rose 71.4% from a year earlier to $103.0 billion, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Tuesday. That was the first time it topped the $100 billion mark for a single month, beating analysts' expectations for a gain of 63.6%. It was also its 19th straight monthly gain.
• In July, export orders jumped 61.9% from a year earlier.
• Orders for goods from Taiwan, home of the world's largest contract chipmaker TSMC and other tech companies, are considered a bellwether of global technology demand.
• The solid gain in August came because of rapid demand increase for AI, high-performance computing and cloud services applications.

• For September, the ministry said it expected export orders to rise by between 50.7% and 55.1% from a year earlier, while for the full year, export orders could reach $1.1 trillion.
• Uncertainties including geopolitical risks and trade policies would continue to weigh on global economic growth. But stable growth momentum for orders would be supported by Taiwan's core position in the semiconductors and server supply chain.
• Taiwan's orders in August for telecoms products were up 100.5% from a year earlier, while those for electronic products jumped 83.9%.
• Overall orders from China rose 47.7%, similar to a 47.2% expansion in July.