Taiwan’s export orders surged 71.4% from a year earlier to a record US$102.96 billion in August 2026, the first time the monthly figure has passed the $100 billion mark, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said on Tuesday, 22 September. The ministry credited booming global demand for artificial intelligence servers and chips, according to Focus Taiwan (CNA).
The August total beat July’s previous record of $97.94 billion and marked the 19th consecutive month of year-on-year growth. More on our business hub and Taiwan hub.
Key takeaways
- August export orders hit a record $102.96 billion, up 71.4% year on year and above the ministry’s own $97.0 billion to $99.0 billion forecast.
- Electronics and information and communication technology (ICT) orders together made up about 78% of the total.
- The MOEA says full-year 2026 orders could approach $1.1 trillion, versus $743.73 billion in 2025.
AI servers and custom chips drive the surge
Huang Wei-jie, head of the MOEA’s Department of Statistics, said stronger-than-expected demand for AI servers was the main reason August beat forecasts. He added that major US cloud service providers developing their own application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) had also boosted demand for chips designed in Taiwan.
Export orders for the electronics industry rose 83.9% to $45.75 billion, as AI applications and high-performance computing lifted demand for chip manufacturing, chip design and memory. Orders for ICT products more than doubled, rising 100.5% to $34.21 billion. Together, the two industries accounted for roughly 78% of all orders in the month, Focus Taiwan reported.
Not every tech segment shared the gains. Optoelectronics orders fell 5.0% to $1.97 billion as demand for flat panels stayed weak.
Traditional industries pick up
Older industries also improved, partly on the back of the AI build-out. Machinery orders rose 28.3% to $2.21 billion as chipmakers installed new equipment to expand production, the MOEA said. Base metals orders climbed 26.8% to $2.34 billion, supported by demand for materials used in AI hardware such as copper foils and copper-clad laminates. Plastics and rubber orders grew 6.7%, while chemical products rose 15.4%.
The United States is the biggest buyer
The United States was Taiwan’s largest source of orders in August at $42.13 billion, up 88.9% from a year earlier. US orders for ICT products alone jumped 195.3%, according to the ministry.
In the first eight months of 2026, total export orders reached $704.99 billion, up 55.0% year on year.
Outlook: around $100 billion a month
Huang said monthly orders could stay around $100 billion from September through December, which would put Taiwan’s full-year total within reach of $1.1 trillion. That compares with $743.73 billion for all of 2025. For September, the ministry forecast orders of $106.0 billion to $109.1 billion, implying year-on-year growth of 50.7% to 55.1%.
Export orders are widely watched as a gauge of future shipments from Taiwan’s manufacturers, which sit at the centre of Asia’s tech supply chain. The latest numbers echo the chip-led export boom seen in South Korea this month, pointing to sustained AI-related spending by global technology companies.
