Industrial production hit a record-high of 120.84 last month, mainly fueled by rising orders for semiconductors, panels, machinery and automobiles.
The index expanded 31.4 percent from April last year, marking the sixth consecutive month of growth of more than 30 percent, said Huang Ji-shih (黃吉實), director-general of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ statistics department.
Manufacturing production — which accounts for about 80 percent of total industrial output and includes electronics, chemicals, food and textile products — grew 33.5 percent last month.
Output in the mining and quarrying industries rose 2.7 percent, while the construction sector’s was down 14.1 percent.
On a cumulative basis, industrial output in the first four months of the year grew 42.6 percent from last year, the department said.
Given continuing strong export orders, Huang said industrial output in the first half of the year could grow more than 30 percent from last year, with the index hitting another record high this month.
The ministry reported on Thursday that export orders last month rose 35.2 percent year-on-year to US$33.96 billion, driven by strong demand for computers, mobile phones and electronics products.
Last month’s export orders marked its seventh consecutive month of growth since October last year and the amount in US dollar terms represented the second-highest on record after March’s US$34.4 billion, the ministry’s report said.
Meanwhile, domestic consumption also saw a rise in revenues last month as more people were willing to spend.
Total sales for the wholesale, retail as well as food and beverage sectors hit NT$1.12 trillion (US$34 billion), up 13 percent from last year and up 0.6 percent from March, department statistics showed.
Cumulative sales in the first four months grew 12.7 percent to NT$4.3 trillion, the department said.
The retail sector expanded 8.1 percent to NT$279.2 billion, thanks to the strong sales of automobiles and motorcycles.
The food and beverage sector saw year-on-year sales growth of 4.7 percent to NT$27.3 billion, with restaurants posting growth of 4.8 percent and beverage stores recording growth of 3.6 percent.
Revenue growth for the wholesale sector jumped 15 percent to NT$814.3 billion, with the fuel, vehicle and component sub-sectors all posting increases, the department said.
However, uncertainties in the job market and stagnant payrolls could continue to weigh on domestic spending, Huang said.
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