The composite index for the domestic manufacturing industry flashed the 14th “blue” signal in May with the total score falling, indicating that operating conditions deteriorated due to volatility on global equity markets, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台經院) said in a report yesterday.
The index lost 0.23 points to 9.89 from April’s 10.12, keeping the monitor signal in recession.
According to the TIER, points below the 10.5 mark indicate a recession and those below 13 suggest a slowdown, while values above the neutral 16 threshold signify an upturn.
“Uncertainty over the global economy and raw material prices dampened investment interest,” the Taipei-based institute said.
The composite index measures the health of the manufacturing industry by analyzing five factors: demand, selling prices, production costs, raw material consumption and operating environment.
The raw material sub-index saw the greatest decline of 0.46 points month-on-month, followed by the operating environment sub-index which lost 0.42 points and the production costs sub-index, which retreated by 0.14 points, the survey showed.
However, the demand sub-index gained 0.46 points, while the selling prices sub-index rose by 0.32 points, the survey showed.
Among the 96 companies operating in the local manufacturing industry surveyed by the institute, 75.24 percent said their business had contracted, while 13.61 percent said their business was sluggish.
Textile companies fared worst due to a supply glut and rising competition, the survey found.
Plastic product manufacturers also struggled, as oil prices remained 20 percent lower then a year earlier, although they improved from the levels in April, the survey showed, while the economic slowdown in China also helped to constrain demand.
The languid conditions extended to electronics firms, although semiconductor companies displayed robust performance, as the global technology product cycle has not yet regained its growth momentum, the survey showed.
Local smartphone vendors and critical component suppliers saw their shipments shrink more than 20 percent in May from a year earlier, the survey showed.
Automakers and auto parts providers fared better thanks to discounts and other promotional campaigns, it showed.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which supplies advanced chips to Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, yesterday reported NT$1.046 trillion (US$33.1 billion) in revenue for last quarter, driven by constantly strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, falling in the upper end of its forecast. Based on TSMC’s financial guidance, revenue would expand about 22 percent sequentially to the range from US$32.2 billion to US$33.4 billion during the final quarter of 2024, it told investors in October last year. Last year in total, revenue jumped 31.61 percent to NT$3.81 trillion, compared with NT$2.89 trillion generated in the year before, according to
RSS