Industrial production last month fell 9.88 percent from a year earlier, dragged mainly by weakness in the electronic components industry amid a slow sales season, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Industrial output declined 4.58 percent last quarter from a year earlier, with a 4.8 percent drop in the electronic components industry, the ministry said in a report.
Electronics suppliers saw a 14.92 percent retreat in output last month, the steepest since May 2009, it said.
Inventory adjustments and cooling demand for cryptocurrency miners were the main factors leading to the decline, which might not improve until next quarter, the ministry said.
“Cryptocurrency mining peaked at about this time last year and raised the comparison bar,” Department of Statistics official Hung Shu-chuan (洪淑娟) said. “The difference is noticeable.”
On the other hand, the computer electronics and optics industry reported double-digit growth for the sixth consecutive month at 13.87 percent, thanks to facility repatriations from China, Hung said.
New smartphone models feature high pixel counts and multiple cameras, lending production support to local suppliers of camera lenses, Hung said, explaining why production largely held steady in the optical industry despite a slow season.
Flat-panel display suppliers reported positive growth, as they benefited from an increase in demand from China, the report said.
Of the traditional sectors, steel product vendors took the hardest hit from ongoing trade tensions between the US and China, the ministry said.
The machinery equipment industry reported an output decline of 17.9 percent, as companies avoided investing in equipment during the tariff dispute, it said.
Production for the automotive and auto parts industry declined 14.59 percent, as foreign peers snapped up market share from local suppliers, it said.
A delay in new model launches contributed to the decline, the ministry added.
Basic metal production dropped due to weak demand from clients in the construction and home appliance businesses, it said.
The ministry expects the decline in industrial output to persist this month and next month based on a survey of manufacturers, it said.
However, orders should improve in the second half, Hung said.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
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MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
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