Taiwan Orders Hit Record as US EV Fleet Shrinks to Four-Year Low

Taiwan's export-order machine delivered its most emphatic reading in more than four decades last month. According to the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs export orders series, total orders by product group reached $95,691m in September 2026. That beat the previous record of $84,274m and is the highest reading since the dataset began in 1984. In New Taiwan dollar terms, orders hit TWD 36,223 hundred millions, also the largest September on record, up from TWD 21,377 hundred millions a year earlier.

EV Momentum Runs in Reverse

While Asia's supply side hit fresh highs, American demand for electric vehicles told a different story. The US state EV fleet dataset shows registered battery-electric vehicles fell to 13,272 in July 2026, the smallest July total in four years and down from 15,268 in July 2022. Plug-in hybrids followed the same direction: 8,210 registered in July 2026, also a four-year July low, against 10,126 in July 2022. Canada meanwhile recorded its largest September CPI reading since the series began in 1914, with the all-items index reaching 170.0 against 164.9 a year earlier. The Canada CPI annual rate in September was also the largest in two years.

Pennsylvania's retail sportsbook handle added another weak print. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board data shows handle fell 23% year on year to $31.2m in September 2026, down from $40.4m in September 2025. Massachusetts casino sportsbook gross and taxable revenue have now fallen for three consecutive months, according to the same US sports betting dataset.

European Automakers: What the Registers Say Ahead of Results

Four major carmakers report this week, and vehicle registration data measured by ORTEX to lead their revenues gives an early read on the quarter.

Austrian car registrations, which lead Kia revenue by 45 days with a moderate fit, are running 9% above the same quarter last year, with all three months of the quarter in. For Mercedes-Benz, Dutch car registrations lead revenue by 26 days with a strong fit and are running 6% below the same quarter a year earlier, three months in. Finnish registrations, a weaker-fit lead, point 36% above year-ago levels for the same period.

Austrian registrations also lead Volkswagen revenue by 18 days with a moderate fit and are running 6% below the prior year, three months in. For Renault, Austrian registrations lead by 32 days and are running 6% above last year. Dutch registrations, a moderate-fit lead with a 43-day lag, are running 19% below the same quarter last year. These are where the registration data points so far for the quarter being reported, not a forecast of the eventual print.