The production value of the nation’s manufacturing sector last quarter plunged 15.01 percent on an annual basis to NT$3.16 trillion (US$96.17 billion) — its worst showing since the first quarter of 2010 — the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The figure shows that the sector’s decline has accelerated from the second quarter’s 9.21 percent fall, and marks the steepest decline since the global financial crisis in 2009, the ministry said.
On a quarterly basis, the sector’s production value declined 5.14 percent.
“The manufacturing sector’s production value in the past quarter was heavily influenced by the fall in global crude oil prices and a decline in the value of basic metals,” Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Yang Kuei-hsien (楊貴顯) said by telephone, adding that the drop in oil prices affected demand for Taiwan’s petrochemical products.
“Average oil prices in the third quarter plunged more than 50 percent on an annual basis,” he said.
Due to its economic slowdown, China’s third-quarter orders for Taiwan’s petrochemical products fell steeply from the same period last year, Yang said.
As a result, the production value of the nation’s petrochemical products plummeted 25.13 percent on a yearly basis, he said.
The production value of the nation’s basic metals dropped 27.55 percent year-on-year in the July-to-September quarter, mainly due to a fall in average selling prices and a global oversupply of stainless steel, Yang said.
The electronic components industry, which is the pillar of the nation’s manufacturing sector, saw production value drop 8.45 percent last quarter on an annual basis due to soft demand for consumer electronics products and fierce global competition, he said.
Within the electronic components industry, the production value of flat panels fell 20.27 percent year-on-year and that of machinery goods slowed 7.33 percent in the last quarter, the ministry’s data showed.
The solar power industry was one of the few bright spots in the nation’s manufacturing sector last quarter, Yang said, with production value increasing both annually and quarterly.
“Taiwan’s solar power industry has slowly moved out from the shadows of the US’s anti-dumping tariffs issue. In addition, China’s demand for the nation’s solar power is growing strongly,” Yang said.
Robust demand for Taiwan’s solar power products is expected to maintain into this quarter, he said.
A Taiwanese YouTuber suspected of creating and selling deepfake porn videos featuring more than 100 politicians and influencers was on Monday released on bail after being arrested the previous day. Chu Yu-chen (朱玉宸), 26, who uses the name Xiaoyu (小玉) on YouTube, was arrested on Sunday in New Taipei City, along with two suspected accomplices, a 24-year-old YouTuber surnamed Yeh (耶), known as Shaiw Shaiw (笑笑), and a 22-year-old man Chuang (莊). The three suspects were on Monday escorted to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for further questioning on suspicion of distributing obscene videos and publicly insulting others, in contravention of
ANTI-COERCION: EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said the EU wishes to bolster relations with Taiwan within the framework of its ‘one China’ policy The EU is to further its engagement with Taiwan to defend democracy, freedom and an open market, while bolstering cooperation in semiconductor supply chains, EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said on Tuesday. In her remarks at a European Parliament plenary session focused on Taiwan-EU relations, Vestager referred to China’s increasing military presence in the Taiwan Strait, including flying missions off the southwest coast of Taiwan. “This display of force may have a direct impact on European security and prosperity,” she said, adding that the EU encourages all parties to avoid any unilateral actions that might increase tensions across the Strait. “We Europeans
DOWN, NOT OUT: The election was not a total defeat, as Chen still received 73,433 votes against the recall, and his party has ‘grown up’ through the process, he said Voters in Taichung yesterday recalled Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟), making him the first legislator in the nation’s history to lose a recall election. A total of 77,899 votes were cast to recall Chen, while 73,433 voted against, the Taichung City Election Commission said, adding that 51.72 percent of the city’s second electoral district turned out. The Central Election Commission is to confirm the final figures within the next seven days, it said. Commission data showed that there are 294,976 eligible voters in the second district, comprised of Dadu (大肚), Shalu (沙鹿), Longjing (龍井), Wufong (霧峰) and Wurih (烏日) districts. Chen won
MILITARY RESOLVE: Washington does not want a cold war with Beijing, it just wants ‘China to understand that we’re not going to step back,’ Biden told a CNN town hall The US would come to Taiwan’s defense and has a commitment to defend the nation China claims as its own, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday, although the White House later said there was no change in policy toward Taiwan. “Yes, we have a commitment to do that,” Biden said at a CNN town hall meeting when asked if the US would come to the defense of Taiwan, which has been facing mounting military and political pressure from Beijing to accept Chinese sovereignty. While Washington is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, it has long
RSS