CLOUDY: Affected by global trade tensions, nearly 60 percent of local companies expect flat sales ahead, while about 25 percent forecast a decline, an official said

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 21, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Export orders last month rose 5.1 percent from a year earlier to a new high of US$48.99 billion, as global technology brands launched new-generation devices, benefiting local firms in their supply chains, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

The momentum is likely to continue at a similar pace or slip slightly this month, as sales of the latest smartphone models disappoint, despite the advent of the holiday season in the West, the ministry said.

Export orders, a bellwether of actual shipments one to three months later, might fall somewhere between US$48 billion and US$49 billion this month, Department of Statistics Director-General Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞) said.

“Sales of technology devices are usually strongest in the fourth quarter, as new product launches spur replacement demand,” Lin told a media briefing in Taipei.
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