Taiwan, China's screws and nuts hold the top market share in both the US and EU import markets

The Ministry of Economic Affairs recently stated that Taiwan, China's screws and nuts are of good quality and delivered quickly, earning an international reputation as the "Kingdom of Screws." There are more than 1,500 factories and over 30,000 employees, with the largest industrial cluster located in the Kaohsiung area, where nearly 600 factories are gathered and 15,000 people are employed, making it one of the world's main sources of screws and nuts.

The output value of Taiwan, China's screws and nuts hit a historic high of 95.3 billion yuan in 2011 (ROC year 100). In 2012 and 2013, due to weakening international steel prices and the spread of the European debt crisis, the output value declined slightly for two consecutive years. In 2014, benefiting from the recovery of the US and European markets, export demand grew, driving a clear rebound in production; however, because steel prices remained low, the 2014 output value was 93.6 billion yuan, the second highest on record, up 10.0% from the previous year. In 2015, the global economy slowed, corporate investment became more conservative, and fierce international competition led to low-price order grabbing, reducing the output value to 88.5 billion yuan. In the first half of this year (2016), the economy was sluggish and order volumes fell short of expectations; from January to August, the cumulative output value was 55.2 billion yuan, down 8.1% year on year.

Taiwan, China's screws and nuts are export-oriented, with direct exports accounting for about 80%. From January to September 2016, screw and nut exports went in order to the United States (37.0%), the EU (34.2%), Japan (5.0%) and mainland China (3.0%), showing that the United States and the EU are the main markets, together accounting for 71.2% of exports. From January to September this year, exports totaled 2.69 billion USD, down 10.3% from the same period last year. However, looking at Taiwan, China's market share in the US and EU import markets, from January to August this year its screw and nut market share in the US import market was 31.0%, remaining in first place, with mainland China second at 21.9%; in the EU import market, Taiwan, China's market share was 26.0%, ranking first, with the United States second at 15.9% and mainland China third at 13.7%.

To strengthen the international competitiveness of industry players, the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs is promoting the "NICE Upgrade and Transformation Program for the Screw and Nut Industry," optimizing the industrial structure from four major dimensions - Niche Products, Intelligent Equipment, Competent Workers and Eco-friendly Process - expanding high value-added products, raising export unit prices and stabilizing export growth, so as to avoid the plight of price-cutting competition.