Taiwan's export orders hit record high in August, surge over 70%

Taipei, Sept. 22 (CNA) Taiwan's export orders hit a record high in August, surging more than 70 percent from a year earlier on the back of a global artificial intelligence (AI) boom, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Tuesday.

Export orders jumped 71.4 percent year-on-year to a record US$102.96 billion in August, surpassing the previous record of US$97.94 billion set in July. August marked the 19th consecutive month of year-on-year growth.

The August figure also exceeded the ministry's previous forecast of US$97.0 billion to US$99.0 billion.

In the first eight months of 2026, Taiwan's export orders totaled US$704.99 billion, up 55.0 percent from a year earlier, the MOEA said.

Huang Wei-jie (黃偉傑), head of the MOEA's Department of Statistics, attributed the better-than-expected August performance to growing demand for AI servers.

He said efforts by major U.S. cloud service providers to develop application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) also boosted demand for chips designed in Taiwan.

The electronics industry received US$45.75 billion in export orders in August, up 83.9 percent from a year earlier, as strong demand for AI applications and high-performance computing devices drove orders for IC manufacturing, IC design and memory chips, the MOEA said.

Export orders for Taiwan's information and communication technology (ICT) industry surged 100.5 percent year-on-year to US$34.21 billion.

Together, the two industries accounted for about 78 percent of Taiwan's total export orders in August.

In contrast, export orders for the optoelectronics industry fell 5.0 percent from a year earlier to US$1.97 billion as demand for flat panels remained weak, according to the MOEA.

Traditional industries also showed signs of improvement. Machinery export orders rose 28.3 percent year-on-year in August to US$2.21 billion as semiconductor firms installed new equipment to expand production and meet AI demand, the MOEA said.

Export orders for the base metals industry increased 26.8 percent from a year earlier to US$2.34 billion, driven by growing demand for materials used in AI applications, including copper foils and copper-clad laminates, the MOEA added.

The plastics and rubber industry and the chemical products industry recorded year-on-year growth of 6.7 percent and 15.4 percent, respectively, amid a recovery in demand, the ministry said.

The United States was Taiwan's largest source of export orders in August, accounting for US$42.13 billion, up 88.9 percent from a year earlier, the MOEA said. U.S. orders for ICT products surged 195.3 percent year-on-year, the MOEA added.

Huang said monthly export orders could remain around US$100 billion from September to December, putting Taiwan's full-year 2026 total within reach of US$1.1 trillion, compared with US$743.73 billion in 2025.

He forecast export orders of US$106.0 billion to US$109.1 billion in September, representing year-on-year growth of 50.7 to 55.1 percent.