South Korea's Exports Nearly Double in October — the Strongest Jump Since 1974 — as AI Chip Demand Surges
Exports from Asia's fourth-largest economy rose 93.7 percent in a year to $115.28 billion, beating forecasts, with semiconductor sales up 259.4 percent and computer sales up 496.6 percent on artificial-intelligence server demand, Reuters reported.
South Korea's exports nearly doubled in October from a year earlier, rising 93.7 percent to $115.28 billion — the sharpest jump in more than 50 years and slightly ahead of the 93.2 percent median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, trade data showed Sunday. The increase was boosted by favourable calendar effects, with more working days this October because of the timing of the local Chuseok holidays, and it followed September's 83.7 percent gain; it was the strongest reading since January 1974.
The engine is the artificial-intelligence build-out. Overseas sales of semiconductors jumped 259.4 percent as prices and volume stayed high on continued facility investment by global big tech firms competing for AI leadership, the trade ministry said, and computer sales surged 496.6 percent on increasing server demand for AI services. Imports rose 36.0 percent to $72.78 billion, the biggest annual increase since January 2022, leaving a monthly trade surplus of $42.50 billion, narrower than the record $49.97 billion posted the previous month.
South Korea is a bellwether for global trade, which is why a print like this lands on Texas desks: the same AI server and chip supply chains run through Texas ports, Texas chip plants and the freight that moves between them. A near-doubling of Korean exports says the world's AI hardware pipeline is still accelerating into the holidays — demand Texas exporters, ports and logistics firms are positioned inside, and a pace whose cooldown, when it comes, will also be felt here first.
