The value of export orders received by Taiwan's manufacturers and traders in May came to US$38.02 billion for an annual growth of 4.7%, much lower than the expected 7.2% and the 8.9% growth recorded a month earlier.
On a monthly basis, May orders fell 2.2% and June's exports are now forecast to drop to about US$36.8 billion.
L. C. Lin, director of the Department of Statistics under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), indicates that the value of export orders in the second quarter is expected to be better than in the first quarter despite the downward trend that surfaced in May and perhaps continued in June.
In May the directional movement index (DMI) of export orders stood at 49.1, based on an MOEA survey of domestic manufacturers about orders received during the month. Lin explains that the DMI ranges from 0 to 100, and that a number lower than 50 implies a downtrend while one above 50 points to an uptrend.
Among export items, electronic products and machinery both showed double-digital growth in May, with the former expanding 12.6% to US$9.52 billion and the latter rising 10.1% to US$1.95 billion. However, in the same month the export value of precision instruments dropped (for the 13th month in a row) by 11.8% to US$2.68 billion.
In terms of source, orders from mainland China in May rose 4.2% from a year earlier and those from the United States and Europe went up 3.3% and 4.3%, respectively.
In the first five months of the year, Taiwan's export value amounted to a total of US$181.64 billion for a year-on-year increase of 4.4%. (JL)
| DMI of Orders Received by Manufacturing Industries in May 2014 |
Industry
| DMI
|
Overall
| 49.1
|
Electronics
| 51.0
|
Information & communications technology
| 52.6
|
Precision instruments
| 30.2
|
Basic metal
| 54.0
|
Plastic & rubber products
| 54.8
|
Machinery
| 48.5
|
Chemicals
| 50.5
|
Source: MOEA
