Taiwan's semiconductor production equipment (SPE) imports grew 26% year over year to $4.86 billion in March, Jefferies said in a Tuesday research note.

March import levels significantly improved after a drop in February and hit a new all-time high, exceeding the previous record of $3.85 billion in March 2025, the equity research firm said.

Imports from Malaysia reached $874 million, growing 73% year-over-year and also setting a new all-time high, the research firm said.

Imports from the US hit $751 million, up 4%, while imports from Japan also grew 4% to $956 million, Jefferies said.

For the first quarter, total imports came to $10.56 billion.

Advantest, which manufactures System on a Chip (SoC) testers at a Malaysian firm, has a 50% share of Taiwan's SPE imports from Malaysia, Jefferies said.