Industrial production increased 1.04 percent year-on-year last month, ending four consecutive months of contraction, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The ministry attributed the increase to the 0.94 percent growth in the manufacturing sector and 2.68 percent rise in electricity and gas supply due to higher demand.
On a cumulative basis, industrial production declined 3.05 percent in the first four months of the year, with the manufacturing sector contracting 3.24 percent, the ministry said.
With trade tensions between the US and China escalating, the ministry expects a slower, but positive growth in industrial production for this month, aided by companies moving production lines to Taiwan and the deployment of new technologies.
“The electronic components industry would be one of the most affected industries,” Department of Statistics Director-General Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞) told a news conference in Taipei.
Electronics components output decreased 3.27 percent last month, as clients’ inventory adjustments led to a decline in foundry production, while increased production of LCD panels and related components in China squeezed production in Taiwan, the ministry said.
However, the computer, electronic goods and optical components industry’s production increased 35.63 percent last month, continuing to grow for a seventh straight month, the ministry said.
It also represented the largest increase since September 2011, thanks to capacity expansions for servers, routers and network switches, as companies return home to avoid higher US tariffs on Chinese goods.
The automaker and components industry recovered from eight consecutive months of decline and reported year-on-year growth of 6.69 percent, benefiting from a steady demand for trucks, the release of new vehicle models and strong demand for auto parts in North America, the ministry said.
The chemicals material industry decreased 3.21 percent owing to the global economic slowdown and routine maintenance of petrochemical plants, while the base metal industry saw output decline 5.93 percent on the back of higher US tariffs on steel products and plant maintenance, it said.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS