Central News Agency (CNA, reporter Pan Zih-yu, Taipei, July 1) The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) announced today that the seasonally adjusted manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for June slightly declined by 0.7 percentage points to 60.7%, marking the ninth consecutive month of expansion. CIER President Lien Hsien-ming stated that despite the slight decrease, the absolute value remains at a relatively high level; if the AI boom continues, this year's export volume is expected to surpass the $1 trillion mark. The seasonally adjusted PMI for June fell to 60.7%. The main reasons for the slowdown in expansion were the slower pace of expansion in the delivery times and inventory indices among the five component indicators. Lien Hsien-ming pointed out that although the index has fallen, a PMI above 50% indicates expansion, and it is still at a considerably high level, with expansion still proceeding rapidly. Lien Hsien-ming said that demand from the AI supply chain is truly very strong, and if this trend continues, "exports this year could really break the $1 trillion mark," a scenario never seen before. Chien Chin-han, a research fellow at the Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, agreed that there were no major changes in the manufacturing trend in June, continuing the AI wave. However, he noted one development worth paying attention to: "raw materials for electronic products are all rising." Lien Hsien-ming added that in the past, production and shipments were generally based on existing orders. Now, due to factors such as production capacity constraints, it has evolved into requiring long-term contracts or at least half of the payment upfront before goods are allocated. In June, the unadjusted PMI for all six major industries expanded. Ranked by expansion speed, they were: Electronic and Optical Products (66.1%), Power and Mechanical Equipment (60.2%), Transportation Equipment (57.6%), Food and Textiles (57.0%), Basic Raw Materials (