Asa Products Corporate Blog

Bad News: Taiwan Exports Drop Again. Not So Bad News: Weakest Drop in Six Months.

Reported by the Wall Street Journal, Taiwan's exports dropped again in April. That's the bad news. On the other hand, the drop in April for Taiwan was the smallest drop in the past six months. The cause of this bounce back? Stronger demand from China, the Taiwanese government said. The Taiwanese government remains hopeful for May, primarily because of government related stimulus programs designed to increase consumption and demand.

Japanese Manufacturing Moves Toward Recovery

Slashing inventories throughout February, Japan's manufacturers said they would increase production in the near future. This is an excellent sign that the Japan may be pulling out of a slump.

According to a recent Bloomberg article, inventories in Japan fell 4.2%, the most dramatic drop since 1953. Although an increase in production is expected, this may not be a sharp bump, because the demand for exports is dropping.

More on this story at Bloomberg.

Chinese Exports Take a Dive

Chinese exports have taken a serious dive in recent months. According to a recent Business Week article, January saw a 17.5% drop in exports from China and a very painful drop of 25.7% in February.

In light of this news, export figures for March are not likely to look much better. At the end of the day, these export figures are likely to affect China's growth figures for 2009.