Taiwan Exports 7% More Machinery in 2007

Taipei, March 6, 2008 (CENS)--Taiwan exported US$15.426 billion worth of machinery in 2007, representing a 7% annual growth, according to customs-cleared statistics compiled by the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI).

Of such major exported machinery items, the machine tool category ranked first with export value totaling US$3.471 billion in 2007, up 17.1% from a year earlier. The second place went to the category of plastics and rubber machinery with export value reaching US$1.038 billion, up 6.9% year-on-year. The category of special-purpose machinery stood at the third place with US$985.22 million, up 8.3%. The fourth place went to the category of valves and parts with US$938.09 million, up 9%. The fifth place was the category of pumps, compressors and fans with US$833.21 million, down 0.3%. The sixth place went to the category of woodworking machinery with US$683.92 million, up 8.4%.

Other major exported items, in descending order, included textile machinery; parts and components; bearings, gears and ball screws; molds and dies; sewing machines; papermaking and printing machinery; and leather and shoes making machines.

In terms of major buyers of Taiwan-made machinery, mainland China and Hong Kong together led by absorbing US$4.926 billion, up 4.5% year-on-year and accounting for 31.9% of the total exports. The U.S. came in second place at US$2.41 billion, down 5.1% and accounting for 15.6%. Japan was the third-largest buyer at US$845.77 million, up 3.1% and commanding 5.5%.

Germany ranked fourth with US$509.08 million, up 31.7% year-on-year. Vietnam stood at the fifth place with US$498.18 million, up 22.1%. Thailand ranked sixth with US$493.39 million, down 2.3%. Other major export outlets, in descending order, included Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Turkey, Italy, United Kingdom, South Korea, the Netherlands, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, Spain, France, United Arab Emirate, Finland, the Philippines, Russia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia.

The TAMI tallies also showed Taiwan imported US$18.356 billion worth of machinery in 2007, down 1.2% from a year earlier. Of this, special-purpose machinery ranked first with import value amounting to US$5.416 billion, down 2.9% year-on-year and commanding 29.5%. Machine Tools stood at second place with import value reaching US$2.542 billion, up 26.4% and accounting for 13.8%. The third place went to the category of pumps, compressors and fans with US$975.71 million, down 8.3% and accounting for 5.3%. The category of engines and parts ranked fourth with US$929.31 million, up 8.1% and accounting for 5.1%. The valves and parts was the fifth-largest category with US$612.15 million, up 1.3% and accounting for 3.3%. The textile machinery ranked sixth with US$315.95 million, up 17.7% and accounting for 1.7%. The seventh place went to the category of plastics and rubber machinery with US$310.55 million, down 11.6% and commanding 1.7%.

TAMI vice president C.C. Wang said the imported machinery were mainly employed by domestic manufacturers of optoelectronics, communications, information technology, and semiconductor goods.

In terms of import sources, Taiwan still relies on Japan and the USA as major suppliers, with the former being the island's largest import source by selling some US$7.809 billion of machinery to Taiwan in 2007, down 12.8% year-on-year and accounting for 42.5%. The U.S. was the second-largest supplier at US$4.651 billion, up 9.7% and commanding 25.3%. The third place went to Germany at US$1.45 billion, up 13.3% and accounting for 7.9%.

Mainland China played as the island's fourth-largest import source for machinery with US$1.437 billion, up 14%. Other major import sources, in descending order, were South Korea, Switzerland, Italy, United Kingdom, and France.

Wang predicted the overall production value for Taiwan's machinery industry would grow between 8% and 10% annually to reach NT$960 billion (US$30.96 million) in 2008.

Exports of Taiwan-made Machinery (2007) by Products Unit: US$1,000
Rank	Product Category	2006	2007	Annual Change (%)
1	Machine Tools	2,964,188	3,471,011	17.1
2	Plastics & Rubber Machinery	939,236	1,003,806	6.9
3	Special-purpose Machinery	909,975	985,228	8.3
4	Valves & Parts	860,422	938,093	9
5	Pumps, Compressors & Fans	836,092	833,215	-0.3
6	Woodworking Machinery	631,005	683,920	8.4
7	Textile Machinery	612,689	643,756	5.1
8	Parts & Components	542,923	638,168	17.5
9	Bearings, Gears, Ball Screws	535,318	611,473	14.2
10	Molds & Dies	564,438	506,780	-10.2
11	Sewing Machines	440,221	385,817	-12.4
12	Paper Making, Printing Machinery	226,695	277,683	22.5
13	Leather & Shoe Making Machines	86,664	80,512	-7.1
	Others	4,264,246	4,366,942	2.4
	Total	14,414,112	15,426,404	7
Source: Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry

Machinery Imports into Taiwan (2007) by Product Category Unit: US$1,000
Rank	Product Category	2006	2007	Annual Change (%)
1	Special-purpose Machinery	5,580,428	5,416,183	-2.9
2	Machine Tools	2,010,758	2,542,221	26.4
3	Pumps, Compressors, Fans	1,064,149	975,716	-8.3
4	Engines & Parts	859,598	929,136	8.1
5	Valves & Parts	604,093	612,153	1.3
6	Textile Machinery	268,326	315,952	17.7
7	Plastics & Rubber Machinery	351,250	310,558	-11.6
	Others	7,836,029	7,254,355	-7.4
	Total	18,574,631	18,356,274	-1.2
Source: Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry