TAIPEI, Reuters – Taiwan saw its export orders rise faster than expected to a new record due to technology demand. But the government expressed concern about uncertainty in supply chains that may impact the outlook.

The bellwether of global tech demand, Taiwan’s export orders rose 12.1% to $67.9 Billion last month. This is the highest monthly record figure, according to data released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Thursday.

This was the 22nd consecutive month of growth, and the pace of the expansion was much higher than what the median forecast of a rise by 8% from a Reuters poll.

Ministry officials stated that supply chain problems were still being eased and that there was strong consumer demand for technology such as 5G and notebook computers.

The December record-breaking month saw orders for electronic products and telecommunications reach new heights. This is usually the beginning of low season, Christmas being over, but the ministry reported “brisk demand”.

According to the ministry, export orders in 2021 increased 26.3% over 2020 and reached $674.13 million, a new record. The pandemic and a worldwide shortage of semiconductors have supported growth.

The ministry stated that tech demand will continue to support demand. However, the ministry warned of supply chain problems and COVID-19 concerns. It also noted that the first quarter is generally the lowest season for technology products.

Taiwanese firms such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, (TSMC) supply major supplies to Apple Inc (NASDAQ :), Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ 🙂 Inc, and other tech companies worldwide.

Export orders increased 13.4% to $65.5 billion in November, far more than analysts expected.

According to the ministry, an increase in export orders for January is expected between +11% and +13.8% compared with a year ago.

In December, orders from the United States grew 16.9% from one year ago. This is a faster pace of growth than the 10.8% recorded in November. Meanwhile, China’s orders increased 4.5% against a loss of 25.3% in the previous month.

The order volume from Europe increased 8.2% while the Japanese orders dropped 5.8%.