The nation’s manufacturing production value plunged 10.84 percent year-on-year to NT$12.86 trillion (US$384.1 billion) last year, dragged down by sluggish demand for consumer electronics worldwide and the falling price of crude oil, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The decline was the largest for the manufacturing sector since 2010, the ministry said, adding that it expects the decline to carry into this quarter, the fifth straight quarter of decline, compared with a production value of NT$3.27 trillion in the first quarter of last year.
“Overall weak global demand was the biggest reason behind [the decline]... Excessive supply in the stainless steel industry also pressured the nation’s manufacturing sector,” Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Yang Kuei-hsien (楊貴顯) said by telephone.
Falling global crude oil prices also caused a contraction in the nation’s petrochemical industry last year, Yang said.
The manufacturing sector gauge measures production value in six major industries — electronic components, petrochemicals, basic metals, computer and optical products, machinery goods and automobiles.
The ministry’s latest statistics showed an extensive annual decline in the production value of all the six major industries, with the production value of petrochemicals and basic metals plummeting by more than 20 percent.
Production value of electronic components, the pillar of the nation’s manufacturing sector, fell 3.57 percent year-on-year mainly because of a significant decline in the flat panel industry, Yang said.
The annual production value of the nation’s panel makers fell 13.53 percent, more than NT$150 billion, the statistics showed.
Yang said production value of the nation’s panel industry swung into the negative in the second quarter of last year and the decline extended into the fourth quarter.
“Increased competition from Chinese panel makers and excessive supply have put great pressure on Taiwan’s panel makers and dragged down average selling prices,” Yang said.
Softer-than-expected demand in the PC industry has also further weakened demand, he said.
The semiconductor industry was the only bright spot, with production value growing 6.17 percent on an annual basis last year.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
The nation’s usually punctual high-speed rail system yesterday was hit by major disruptions after all scheduled services were canceled and replaced with three hourly trains offering only non-reserved seating, affecting more than 200,000 passengers. Preliminary findings indicate the disruption was caused by a faulty power module in a track switch control cabinet, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said, adding that as a full system inspection could only be conducted after operations end for the day, a decision on whether normal service would resume today would be announced before the first train departs. During a routine inspection early yesterday, a switch signal abnormality
RSS