Taiwan's Machinery Exports Rise 9% in 2025, Output Tops NT$1 Trillion

Taiwan's machinery industry delivered steady growth in 2025, with full-year exports rising 9.1% despite earlier disruptions caused by US reciprocal tariffs, according to David Chuang, chairman of the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI).

Chairman Chuang on Sunday said that global economic uncertainty has gradually eased following volatility in shipments to the US, allowing Taiwan's machinery sector to return to a stable growth trajectory. Total machinery output for the year remained above NT$1 trillion, underscoring the industry's resilience.

Looking forward to 2026, Chairman Chuang acknowledged persistent uncertainties, including US tariff policy, New Taiwan dollar exchange rates, and geopolitical tensions. Nevertheless, he said export conditions this year are expected to improve, forecasting overall machinery export growth of 5% to 10%, while the machine tool sector seeks to regain momentum.

TAMI data show Taiwan's machinery equipment exports reached US$31.86bn in 2025, driven by strong semiconductor demand that lifted shipments of electronic equipment. In New Taiwan dollar terms, exports totaled approximately NT$991.2bn, up 5.8% year-on-year.

By contrast, machine tool exports remained weak, held back by subdued global demand and an unfavourable currency environment. Full-year exports in 2025 were flat at around US$2bn, marking the lowest since the 2009 global financial crisis.

December exports rose 14.3% year on year to US$2.99bn, extending a streak of 11 consecutive months of growth since February last year. Semiconductor-related demand linked to artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and cloud services continued to support strong growth in electronic equipment and inspection and measurement devices. December shipments rose 35.7% and 15.5% respectively. For the full year, electronic equipment exports increased 10.2%, while measuring equipment exports grew 15.0%.

Chairman Chuang warned that the New Taiwan dollar's relative strength remains a structural challenge. Between 2021 and early 2026, the currency depreciated just 11.2%, compared with a 53.2% fall in the Japanese yen, with a difference of 42%, eroding Taiwan's previous pricing advantage of 20% to 30% over Japanese competitors.

Despite ongoing risks, Chairman Chuang said, as US tariffs come to a settling point, along with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, US-China trade tensions are easing; stabilized currency conditions could allow the industry to bottom out in the second quarter this year, followed by a gradual recovery.