Exports of Taiwan-made Machinery Up 32.4% in First Two Months

Taipei, May 7, 2010 (CENS)--Taiwan exported US$2.194 billion of machinery in the first two months of 2010, for a 32.4% annual growth, according to customs-cleared statistics compiled by the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI).

Exports of machine tools led in export value of US$311.6 billion in the first two months, up 10.8% year-on-year. Plastic and rubber processing machines ranked second at US$136.3 million, up 44%. Special-purpose machines ranked third at US$126.68 million, up 40.7%.

China was the largest export outlet for Taiwan-made machinery by absorbing US$591.51 million of the products in the first two months of this year, up 101% year-on-year and accounting for 27% of the total exports. The U.S. was second with US$426.25 million, up 21.3% and commanding 19.4%. Japan ranked third with US$131.36 million, down 25% and accounting for 6%.

Other major export outlets, in descending order, were India, South Korea, the Philippines, Germany, Malaysia, Brazil, Singapore, the Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, France, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Spain, Finland and Saudi Arabia.

The TAMI's tallies also showed Taiwan imported US$3.132 billion of machinery in the first two months of 2010, up 68.4% year-on-year. ICs (integrated circuits) and semiconductors was the largest import item with import value amounting to US$1.419 billion, up 256% year-on-year and accounting for 45.3% of the total import value.

Special-purpose machinery ranked second at US$244.21 million, down 9.8% and commanding 7.8%. Pumps, compressors and fans was third at US$170.83 million, up 53.7% and accounting for 5.5%. (See table below)

TAMI said Taiwan still heavily relied on the supply of imported machinery from Japan, the U.S., China and Germany in the first two months of 2010. The TAMI's tallies showed that Japan was the island's largest supplier by selling US$1.277 billion of machinery to Taiwan in the first two months, up 26.3% year-on-year and accounting for 38.6% of the total imports. The second place went to the U.S. with US$735.31 million, up 219% and commanding 23.5%. China ranked third with US$273.81 million, up 65.4% and commanding 8.7%. (See table below)

Exports of Taiwan-made Machinery by Category, Jan.-Feb. 2010 Unit: US$ million
Rank	Product Category	Jan.-Feb. 2009	Jan.-Feb. 2010	Change (%)
1	Machine Tools	281,120	311,601	10.8
2	Plastics & Rubber Machinery	94,635	136,300	44
3	Special-purpose Machinery	90,024	126,683	40.7
4	Pumps, Compressors, Fans	90,720	126,266	39.2
5	Valves & Parts	104,197	121,067	16.2
6	Bearings, Gears, Ball Screws	66,961	112,323	67.7
7	Machine-tool Parts & Components	45,493	86,950	91.1
8	Molds & Dies	66,981	75,243	12.3
9	Textile Machinery	39,134	74,441	90.2
10	Woodworking Machinery	47,353	72,481	53.1
11	Sewing Machines; Leather & Shoe-making Machines	41,065	60,664	47.7
12	Food & Packaging Machinery	43,251	58,914	36.2
13	Papermaking & Printing Machinery	23,106	24,765	7.2
	Others	623,614	807,016	29.4
	Total	1,657,654	2,194,714	32.4
Source: Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry

Imports of Machinery into Taiwan by Category, Jan.-Feb. 2010 Unit: US$ million
Rank	Produce Category	Jan.-Feb. 2009	Jan.-Feb. 2010	Change (%)
1	Machinery for ICs, Semiconductors	398,733	1,419,741	256.1
2	Special-purpose Machinery	270,697	244,218	-9.8
3	Pumps, Fans, Compressors	111,160	170,831	53.7
4	Engines & Parts	126,071	116,235	-7.8
5	Components and Parts	78,157	100,161	28.2
6	Equipment for Materials Treatment	123,176	87,735	-28.8
7	Valves & Parts	56,302	76,930	36.6
8	Machine Tools	53,165	76,836	44.5
9	Handling Equipment	55,238	70,636	27.9
10	Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Equipment	52,519	58,697	11.8
11	Glassware-making Machinery	41,826	51,441	23
12	Textile Machinery	23,530	42,173	79.2
13	Plastics & Rubber Machinery	29,307	29,857	1.9
	Others	439,830	586,859	33.4
	Total	1,859,711	3,132,350	68.4
Source: Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry