The Nikkei Taiwan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 46.3 last month, down from 49.3 in May, the most dramatic decline in 43 months, a survey by the Japanese media organization showed yesterday.
“The downturn in Taiwan’s manufacturing sector intensified last month as output and new orders contracted at faster paces,” said Annabel Fiddes, an economist at Markit, the UK-based financial data and marketing company that conducted the survey.
Nikkei Inc has replaced HSBC Holdings PLC in producing PMI data for the Asia region, based on monthly economic surveys compiled by Markit.
The PMI is a composite indicator of manufacturing performance derived from constituent gauges for new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks of purchases.
A figure greater than 50 indicates improvement of the sector’s operating conditions, while a value below the neutral mark suggests deterioration, according to Markit.
FEWER ORDERS
Fiddes attributed last month’s PMI fall to fewer orders placed with Taiwanese manufacturers amid weakened global client demand.
New orders, a key source of growth for Taiwanese manufacturers, declined rapidly last month, while output contracted the most in 33 months, the survey said.
The survey showed that manufacturing employment increased last month, but the rate of job creation was modest, because an increase in staff numbers was generally linked to the filling of vacancies, not growing business demand, it said.
Meanwhile, backlogs of work fell and purchasing activity declined further last month, the survey showed.
“The finding reflects a cautious attitude by companies with regard to production plans,” Fiddes said.
If demand fails to rise, manufacturers might soon start to shed staff in line with reduced production requirements, Fiddes said.
In Italy’s storied gold-making hubs, jewelers are reworking their designs to trim gold content as they race to blunt the effect of record prices and appeal to shoppers watching their budgets. Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday, surging near US$5,600 an ounce, more than double a year ago as geopolitical concerns and jitters over trade pushed investors toward the safe-haven asset. The rally is putting undue pressure on small artisans as they face mounting demands from customers, including international brands, to produce cheaper items, from signature pieces to wedding rings, according to interviews with four independent jewelers in Italy’s main
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has talked up the benefits of a weaker yen in a campaign speech, adopting a tone at odds with her finance ministry, which has refused to rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. Takaichi later softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the yen’s direction. “People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it’s a major opportunity,” Takaichi said on Saturday at a rally for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Daishiro Yamagiwa in Kanagawa Prefecture ahead of a snap election on Sunday. “Whether it’s selling food or
CONCERNS: Tech companies investing in AI businesses that purchase their products have raised questions among investors that they are artificially propping up demand Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday said that the company would be participating in OpenAI’s latest funding round, describing it as potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” “We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters while visiting Taipei. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” Huang did not say exactly how much Nvidia might contribute, but described the investment as “huge.” “Let Sam announce how much he’s going to raise — it’s for him to decide,” Huang said, referring to OpenAI
The global server market is expected to grow 12.8 percent annually this year, with artificial intelligence (AI) servers projected to account for 16.5 percent, driven by continued investment in AI infrastructure by major cloud service providers (CSPs), market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. Global AI server shipments this year are expected to increase 28 percent year-on-year to more than 2.7 million units, driven by sustained demand from CSPs and government sovereign cloud projects, TrendForce analyst Frank Kung (龔明德) told the Taipei Times. Demand for GPU-based AI servers, including Nvidia Corp’s GB and Vera Rubin rack systems, is expected to remain high,
RSS