Asia chip demand lifts global trade
September 2026 PMIs and rising AI investment have boosted demand for GPUs and semiconductors, supporting Asian manufacturing and exports, officials said.
Mateo Fernandez ·
Asia's chip makers have pushed regional factory activity higher, lifting exports and supporting global trade as AI-driven hardware demand accelerates.
Data showed September 2026 purchasing managers' indices signalled stronger factory output in South Korea and Taiwan, with demand focused on GPUs and memory used to train large AI models. The World Economic Forum report of chief economists said AI investment is the largest source of optimism for near-term growth.
September PMIs in Korea, Taiwan Investment in data centres and next-generation semiconductors has kept production elevated at major Asian manufacturers, sustaining shipments to overseas customers, data showed. Officials said the hardware-led boost has helped offset weakness in traditional manufacturing sectors but has not erased broad slowdown risks.
The gains are concentrated in technology supply chains; higher energy costs and tighter borrowing conditions continue to weigh on non-tech industries and on overall trade momentum, economists said. Export records in parts of Asia reflect the semiconductor cycle more than a synchronous recovery across economies.
By October 15, 2026, scheduled trade and PMI releases for September and early October should clarify whether AI-driven hardware demand can sustain export growth, with markets watching semiconductor shipment figures and regional export data for confirmation.