Taiwan chip exports plunge 21% as device-makers clear inventory

Yokohama - Taiwan’s exports of integrated circuit chips dropped for a sixth consecutive month in June on slowing global demand.

Exports decreased 20.8 per cent from a year earlier to a four-month low of US$12.6 billion (S$16.9 billion), according to data from Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance.

The island is home to Apple and Nvidia’s go-to chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), along with a coterie of smaller but essential chip industry players.

The annual decline was the largest since March 2009, partly amplified by a high base in June 2022.

“The demand for integrated circuits continues to be weak,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement accompanying the data, as sticky inflation and continuous rate hikes by central banks have tapered the global economy.

Consumer tech firms have spent much of 2023 working through an inventory glut, which is expected to weigh on sales for the likes of TSMC through at least the end of the year.

Sales of smartphones have yet to resume growth after a protracted slump in 2022, while PC and laptop makers also struggle to compel new purchases and continue to see double-digit declines.

United States-China trade tensions

have also affected Taiwan’s biggest industry.

Shipments to mainland China and Hong Kong, which together account for more than 50 per cent of its chip exports, fell for an eighth consecutive month. BLOOMBERG