March 1 , 2001

Taiwan's hand tool industry recorded a total export value of NT$63.55 billion (US$1.96 billion) in 2000, a gain of five percent from a year earlier, statistics complied by the Taiwan Hand Tools Manufacturers' Association showed. Among the exports, the air-powered tools sector represented 13.18 percent of the total, followed by electric tools at 11.15 percent and hand tool kits at 7.45 percent.

The U.S. was the biggest buyer of Taiwan-made hand tools, accounting for 39.75 percent of the island's total hand tools shipments, followed by Hong Kong at 6.31 percent, the U.K. at 6.06 percent and Japan at 5.63 percent.

Other main export destinations included Germany (4.11 percent), Canada (3.97 percent), Australia (3.61 percent), France (1.80 percent) and Africa (1.23 percent).
According to the statistics, export of the island's hand tools to countries and regions other than the ones already mentioned, increased 27.13 percent last year from 1999 totals. However, of the nine main export regions, only Japan, Hong Kong and Africa recorded increased imports of hand tools from Taiwan.

The statistics also listed the top ten export products as the following (in descending order): air-powered tools, electric tools, hand tool kits, sockets, gardening tools, wrenches, vises, screwdrivers, scissors and hydraulic hand tools.

Of these top ten products, export sales for wrenches increased sharply by 15 percent over the year before, air-powered tools climbed 12 percent and electric tools rose 11 percent.

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