US manufacturing last month picked up for the first time since July last year, beating analyst predictions of further contraction thanks to growth in key sectors, an industry survey released on Monday said.
Manufacturing had been on a five-month decline in the US fueled by concerns over global growth and a trade dispute between Washington and China, according to monthly statistics released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
Analysts had expected the index to continue its contraction last month, but the ISM reported that the monthly manufacturing index instead rose to 50.9 percent, with growth in food, beverage and tobacco products followed by computers and electronic products propelling the increase.
Any reading below 50 percent indicates manufacturing activity is slowing.
“Global trade remains a cross-industry issue, but many respondents were positive for the first time in several months,” said Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM’s manufacturing survey.
In total, eight of the 18 industries surveyed by the ISM showed growth, while employment and the price index both showed a slight increase of about 1.5 percentage points.
The report marked a reversal from December last year, which saw the index plunge nearly six points, and new orders drop again — both falling to their lowest points since April 2009.
Last month, the US resolved both of its major trade disputes, reaching an initial trade agreement with China that set the stage for an easing of tariffs on US industries.
Washington also inked a new deal with Mexico and Canada, ending long-running negotiations and removing another uncertainty for companies.
However, analysts were mixed over whether the positive report was a blip or a true upswing.
Rubeela Farooqi, chief US economist for High Frequency Economics, said that the report was “likely in response to an easing of trade tensions.”
“We expect the upcoming non-manufacturing ISM index to remain comfortably over 50,” she said.
However, Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics said that the spread of a coronavirus in China — which has spurred border and industry closures — could torpedo growth this month.
“We have to expect a setback next month as demand from China drops and supply chains are interrupted,” he wrote in a note.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six