The manufacturing sector saw revenue expand by 4.6 percent annually to NT$12.43 trillion (US$411.6 billion) in the first half of the year, the greatest first-half annual increase in six years, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
“The growth momentum in the first half bodes well for revenue performance this year,” Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) said by telephone.
Wang did not elaborate on the sector’s revenue growth for the whole of the year.
The manufacturing sector last year saw revenue decline for the second consecutive year, contracting 3.7 percent to NT$25.43 trillion, according to ministry data.
The electronics industry and traditional industries performed well in the first six months, backed by the recovering global economy that spurred demand and benefited the average selling prices across the industries, Wang said.
During the April-to-June quarter, the traditional industry’s growth momentum outpaced that of the electronics industry, as the latter entered a slow season for consumer electronics products, Wang added.
Sales turnover in basic metals rose by 10.1 percent year-on-year to NT$306 billion last quarter, while petroleum and charcoal manufacturing rose 9.1 percent annually to NT$368.8 billion, the data showed.
Revenue from computers and optical products, which includes contract smartphone and notebook computer manufacturing, dropped 1.3 percent annually to NT$1.96 trillion last quarter, due to the appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar against the US dollar and slow sales of smartphones amid product transition, Wang said.
The revenue performance of the electronics industry is expected to improve strongly this quarter, as local supply chains are expected to benefit from Apple Inc’s anticipated launch of its latest generation iPhone, Wang said.
The biggest uncertainty for the manufacturing sector in the second half of this year would be the unpredictable geopolitical situation, which might affect consumer demand and cause volatility in raw material and crude oil prices, Wang said.
The manufacturing sector’s fixed asset investment grew for the eighth consecutive quarter last quarter, expanding 1.5 percent annually to NT$266.7 billion, the ministry said.
That brought fixed assets investment in the first six months to NT$528 billion, a 9 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, ministry statistics showed.
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