The S&P Taiwan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) last month rose to 49.0, from 44.3 in January, as the worst of inventory adjustments likely ended, as evidenced by improving demand from China following the lifting of its strict COVID-19 curbs.
The PMI pointed to a less serious deterioration in the operating conditions of manufacturers in light of subdued declines in output, new orders and input buying, S&P Global Market Intelligence said on Wednesday.
“The upward movement in the indices reflected improvements in demand at some firms, partly due to eased COVID-19 restrictions in China, and adds to hopes that the worst of the current downturn is now behind us,” company associate director Annabel Fiddes said in a statement.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
PMI data aim to gauge the health of the manufacturing industry, with scores of 50 and higher indicating business expansion and values lower than that suggesting contraction.
Retreats in output and new orders subsided, and input purchases weakened at a softer pace, while supply chain pressures fell markedly from a year earlier, Fiddes said.
Production declined at the slowest pace in 10 months, while a retreat in total new business slowed from the beginning of the year, the report said.
Employment fell for the second month in a row, albeit only slightly, it said.
New orders fell at the slowest rate since May last year and only marginally, it added.
A downturn in new export business eased notably, with foreign sales shrinking only slightly, the report said.
Supply chain stress subsided and is close to stabilizing, with businesses reporting the slowest increase in delivery times in 43 months, it said.
Customer demand remained tepid, but some companies reported sales increases, especially from customers in China, the report said.
Still, companies were cautious about inventory management, but cost pressures increased in light of sharply rising input costs, the report added.
Nevertheless, businesses reduced selling prices to boost sales, it said.
“There still needs to be a meaningful increase in global demand to support a recovery in Taiwan,” Fiddes said.
Companies were not as downbeat in their business outlook for the year ahead as they were in January, but they still remain negative, she said, adding that a murky global economic outlook and stubborn cost pressures would continue to weigh on output projections.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in