The nation’s industrial production last month decreased slightly by 0.39 percent as the output of the manufacturing sector contracted by 0.61 percent, counterbalancing the growth recorded in other sectors, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
A production slump across traditional industries was the main culprit that dragged down output from the manufacturing sector as the electronic components and the computer, electronic goods and optical components industries both witnessed outstanding growth, the ministry said.
The electronic components industry’s output increased by 2.81 percent year-on-year, ending six consecutive months of contraction, despite the continuous poor performance of DRAM and LCD panels, the ministry said.
The increase was mainly due to a 9 percent increase in the integrated circuit sector, Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) told a news conference in Taipei.
“Wafer foundries were the main contributors,” Wang said, adding that companies reported higher production last month at 12-inch fabs than 8-inch fabs.
Output from the computer, electronic goods and optical components industry surged 23.18 percent last month as the industry marked its ninth month of consecutive double-digit percentage growth.
As a growing number of companies are relocating back to the nation to avoid the effects of an ongoing trade dispute between the US and China, production of servers, routers and network switches increased accordingly, the ministry said, adding that rising orders of automobile electronics controllers and temperature regulators also contributed to production growth.
Although the US-China trade dispute has indirectly driven high-tech production, it has also simultaneously caused a decline in output within traditional industries, which depend heavily on global demand, the ministry said.
Output from the machinery equipment industry fell 20 percent last month as companies flagged investment plans due to rising market uncertainties fostered by the trade dispute, it said.
The chemical materials industry last month decreased production by 3.56 percent as prices of petrochemical raw materials remained in a trough and the ministry said production has not fully recovered following several industrial incidents.
The base metal industry saw production drop by 9.79 percent year-on-year due to import tariffs imposed by the US and Europe, while output from the automobile and auto parts sector declined by 2.33 percent amid dwindling demand and rising competition from imported vehicles, the ministry said.
“We should see improvements this month as the manufacturing sector has entered its peak season,” Wang said, adding that on the other hand, market uncertainties would deter heavy investment in the sector, which would result in slow or nonexistent growth.
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