The nation’s industrial production index last month rose 3.09 percent annually to a record high of 117.14, supported by robust demand for semiconductors and machinery products, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The index rose 3.99 percent year-on-year to 108.98 in the first quarter of this year, the seventh consecutive quarter of annual increases, Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) told a news conference yesterday.
The industrial production index gauges output in the nation’s five main industries: manufacturing, mining and quarrying, electricity and gas supply, water supply and architectural engineering.
The manufacturing production index, which makes up 92.76 percent of total industrial production, also reached a record of 119.75 last month, a 3.2 percent increase from a year earlier, the ministry said.
Among the manufacturing industries, the chemical industry posted the highest production growth by value last month on the back of higher crude oil prices and a tight supply in Asia’s petrochemical market, it said.
Chemical goods production last month increased 8.31 percent annually, the ministry added.
The electronics sector, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of manufacturing, last month rose 6.49 percent annually, supported mainly by increasing orders for integrated circuits and silicon wafers, ministry data showed.
The value of machinery production grew 6 percent annually, as businesses began to expand their production capacities and pour capital into automated equipment, they showed.
The ministry expects the manufacturing production index to rise 5 percent annually this month.
In a separate release, the ministry said the nation’s wholesale sector revenues last month grew 4.1 percent annually to NT$869.6 billion (US$29.45 billion), on the back of upcoming launches of new mobile phones.
Revenue in the retail sector last month rose 5 percent annually to NT$341.4 billion, while sales in the restaurant and beverage sector rose 7.4 percent to NT$37.2 billion over the period.
The ministry partly attributed the performance to the launch of French Michelin Co’s guide for Taipei restaurants, which boosted the restaurant sector.
Sales this month are expected to outpace last month, as growth momentum is expected to persist due to promotional campaigns for Mother’s Day next month, it said.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS