Taiwan's exports rose 58.9% from a year earlier to a record US$96.76 billion in October as global spending on AI infrastructure kept demand for the island's servers and chips strong, Ministry of Finance data released on November 9 showed.
October was the first month in which Taiwan's outbound shipments topped US$90 billion, clearing September's high of US$87.22 billion by about 11%, Focus Taiwan reported. Exports have now grown year on year for 36 months in a row, the longest such run in Taiwan's records. Beatrice Tsai, head of the ministry's Department of Statistics, called the result "surprising and astonishing."
AI Hardware Drives 83% Of Shipments
Exports of information, communications, and audiovisual products, the category that includes AI servers, rose 72.9% to US$47.6 billion. Electronic components rose 61.4% to US$32.68 billion. Both were records, and together they made up 83% of October's exports.
The United States bought a record US$32.93 billion of Taiwanese goods, up 55.9%. Over the first 10 months, the US took 31.7% of Taiwan's exports, a level not seen in 36 years, while China and Hong Kong's combined share slid to 23.8%, a 27-year low.
US$900 Billion Year Now In Sight
Exports from January through October rose 47.7% to US$758.29 billion. The ministry expects November exports of US$94.2 billion to US$96.7 billion, up 47% to 51%. Tsai said exports for the full year will pass US$900 billion, a level she called "unprecedented in Taiwan's export history."
