Even in the context of surging NE Asian exports, Taiwan's December export orders number is astonishing: orders jumped 38.3% yoy to US$60.55bn. This is not a phony 'base of comparison' illusion: the month-on-month rise in November was 2.5 standard deviations above what you'd expect, and this was followed in December by a 1.7SD surprise. To find anything remotely similar, you've got to go back to 2009, in the headiest days of the rebound from the GFC.
Of course, it's mostly electronics: orders for electronics were up 58.4% yoy and infocomms equipt rose 38.2%, but in addition, machinery rose 29.7% and 'others' jumped 43.8%. So Taiwan's boom is broadening out a bit.
And all regions are participating: orders from China were up 54.3% yoy, but they were also up 40.5% from US, 35% from Europe, 31.3% from Asean and 31.2% from Japan.
What it tells you is that there is a global race on to secure electronics supplies, and that Taiwan is the key supplier at the heart of every global electronics supply-chain.