Taiwan’s export orders in March plunged by the most since the global financial crisis as global demand for semiconductors shows little sign of improving.
The value of overseas orders to Taiwanese companies shrank to US$46.6 billion last month, a 25.7% drop compared to a year ago. The contraction was the largest since January 2009.
Weakening demand for electronic components, which includes semiconductors, was the main factor behind the decline. Orders for components fell 29.4%, also the biggest fall since 2009.
Earlier sales data from industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) indicated the weakness in global demand.
The world’s biggest contract manufacturer of chips missed revenue estimates for the second straight quarter, with sales of NT$508.6 billion ($16.7 billion) in the January-to-March period, TSMC said earlier this month.
During a briefing about earnings on Thursday, TSMC chief executive officer CC Wei said the company was “passing through the bottom of the cycle” of its business in the second quarter.
The markets for PCs and smartphones “continue to be soft”, he added.
In terms of regions, waning demand from the United States was a particular concern, said ING Bank chief China economist Iris Pang.
She pointed out that while orders from China and Hong Kong fell more than 30% year-on-year, the dollar value was more or less in line with Chinese orders from November and December. US orders in March were well down from their levels late last year.
“Taiwan’s exports should continue to fall if the US economy weakens further,” she said.