Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announces September export and import trends… “consider”
Exports increased by 7.5%… Semiconductor 37.1% up to KRW 13.6 billion
Third quarter exports to semiconductors, US, and EU are all-time high
Last month, exports continued their positive trend for a year despite concerns about a ‘peakout’ (peaking and entering a downward trend). It recorded an all-time high on a daily average, continuing the ‘high and low’ trend.
Semiconductor exports to the United States and the European Union (EU) reached a new all-time high in the third quarter. Accordingly, this year’s cumulative trade balance also recorded the largest surplus since 2018.
According to the ‘September Import and Export Trends’ announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 1st, exports recorded $58.77 billion (KRW 77.5764 trillion), a 7.5% increase from a year ago. The daily average reached a record high of $2.94 billion. This is a 12.9% increase compared to the same period last year.
Imports increased by 2.2% to $52.12 billion (KRW 68.7984 trillion). As a result, the trade balance recorded a surplus of $6.66 billion (8.7912 trillion won). It has been in surplus for 16 consecutive months.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Deok-geun said, “In September, average daily exports recorded an all-time high,” adding, “Exports this year increased every quarter and showed a ‘steady’ trend until the second half of the year.”
◆Semiconductor maximum in 3 months… Car to plus in 4 months
Exports have continued to trend positively for 12 months since October last year. Performance was driven by semiconductors, the largest item. Semiconductor exports increased 37.1% from the previous year to $13.62 billion. This is the highest in three months and the 11th consecutive month of increase.
This is believed to be the result of solid demand, especially for memory, as new smartphones are released and new investments in artificial intelligence (AI) servers increase. In addition, the fixed price of DRAM and NAND increased, boosting performance.
The two major items, automobiles, also turned positive in four months despite a decrease in the number of working days. Exports amounted to $5.48 billion, a 4.9% increase from the previous year, reaching the highest level in September. This is thanks to the conclusion of wage negotiations between major companies and the export of electric vehicles in earnest. In particular, hybrid cars (58%) were strong.
In addition, information technology (IT) items (wireless communication devices and computers) are also on the rise. Wireless communication devices ($1.92 billion) increased 19.0%. This is due to an increase in demand for high-performance and high-value components as the global mobile device market recovers, centered on new smartphones. Computer exports increased 132.0% to $1.5 billion.
Ship exports increased by 76.2% to $2.4 billion, driven by high value-added ships such as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Biohealth (9.9%) continued its increase for three consecutive months to $1.2 billion. This is due to an increase in orders for contract manufacturing (CMO) and biosimilars.
◆China, highest after 7 months of increase… U.S. hits record highs every month
It increased evenly in six of the nine major markets. The No. 1 market, China (6.3%), recorded a performance of $11.69 billion. After increasing for seven consecutive months, it achieved its highest performance of the year last month. As of September this year, cumulative exports were $97.9 billion (6.8%), making it the largest exporting country.
Performance was driven by semiconductors, displays, and wireless communications. In particular, thanks to the improving IT industry, semiconductor exports exceeded $10 billion for seven consecutive months.
The United States, which once overtook China and regained first place, was also pushed to second place but is still doing well. Exports to the United States (3.4%) also reached $10.42 billion, the highest ever in September. Exports to the United States have been recording record monthly performance for 14 consecutive months. Although it slowed down in general machinery, it grew in semiconductors and computers due to increased demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers.
In addition, ASEAN, the third largest export market, also increased by 0.6% to $9.46 billion. Despite the decline in petroleum products, semiconductors and petrochemicals showed strong performance. The European Union (EU) exported $6.03 billion, a 5.1% increase, thanks to the IT sector, including wireless communications and computers. This is the highest monthly performance ever for two consecutive months. The Middle East also exported $1.6 billion (15.5%), turning it into a positive figure in just one month.
◆Trade surplus for 16 months… Largest surplus since 2018
Last month’s income recorded $52.12 billion, up 2.2% from a year ago. This is because energy imports (-8.4%) also decreased due to low oil prices, but imports excluding these increased slightly.
Energy imports decreased in that order: crude oil by 12%, coal by 5%, and gas by 1%. Excluding this, imports increased by 5.3%. This is due to the increase in semiconductor and naphtha imports.
Nevertheless, thanks to the greater increase in exports, the trade balance recorded a surplus of $6.66 billion (8.7912 trillion won). It has been in the black for 16 consecutive months. The trade surplus amounted to a cumulative $36.9 billion as of September this year, an improvement of $56.8 billion as of the end of last year. This is the highest performance in six years since the same period in 2018.
◆In the third quarter, semiconductor and U.S. record high… “Achieved our biggest goal ever at the end of the year”
Exports in the third quarter, including last month, increased 10.7% to $173.9 billion. On a quarterly basis, it has been positive for four consecutive quarters since the fourth quarter of last year. The performance of semiconductors as a product and the US and European Union (EU) as a market reached an all-time high as of the third quarter.
Semiconductors hit a low point in the first quarter of last year and rebounded. In the third quarter of last year, it recorded its highest quarterly performance ever at $36.68 billion (+41.4%). Automobiles ($15.92 billion) also ranked second all time during the third quarter.
In China, third quarter performance increased 9.5% to $34.43 billion. After turning positive in the first quarter, it continued to increase until the third quarter. Exports to the US and EU were $30.56 billion and $18.01 billion, respectively, the highest ever in the third quarter.
Third quarter revenues were $160 billion, up 6.2% from the same period last year. Accordingly, the trade balance was in surplus of $13.9 billion, an improvement of $7.5 billion compared to the previous year.
Minister Ahn said, “We will strive to ensure that the strong performance continues until the end of the year and achieve our highest ever performance goal this year,” adding, “The public and private sectors will work together to intensively support available resources to expand exports.”
[세종=뉴시스]
2024-10-02 15:08:11