Taiwan Fastener Exports Hit Record High in 2011 Due to Redirected EU Orders

Though Taiwan fastener exports strength in the second half of 2011 weakened, its 2011 full year export volume and value both hit record high. The main reason of the growth is due to the fact that China’s fastener exports to Europe are blocked by the EU’s anti-dumping duty measure ruled against China, and the European fastener orders are substantially redirected to Taiwan. Thus, Taiwan’s 2011 full year fastener (including the iron nail) exports amounted to 1.422 million tons, outpaced the previous record of 1.41 million tons in 2004 and up 11.14% over 2010 as a growth for the second consecutive year. The export value reached USD3.973 billion, showing a 23.61% hike over 2010 as the highest growth in export history. The average export price was USD2.794/kg, up 11.22% over 2010.   

Since the exports to Europe continue to grow, the European market has exceeded the US market to become Taiwan’s largest fastener exports destination in the past year. In terms of product categories, the orders of small screws has dropped since last April and the situation remained at the end of 2011 while the orders of auto fasteners presented the best performance and many auto fasteners companies received extra orders in the first half of 2011. However, the orders of auto fasteners saw a downtrend in the second half. Generally, though the export orders of Taiwanese fasteners dropped in the second half of 2011, the 2011 full year exports still substantially grew and the overall export rate was close to 95%.