Taiwan’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month fell 2.1 percent to 48.7, ending two months of expansion weighed by the effect of the Lunar New Year holiday and uncertainty linked to the US’ potential tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.
However, the reading on the six-month business outlook gained 5.6 points back into growth mode at 51.7, encouraged by China’s stimulus measure for purchases of smartphones, tablets and wearables.
“Taiwan should come up with measures to address its trade surpluses with the US, which amounted to US$70 billion last year, a 50 percent spike from a year earlier,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
US President Donald Trump has reiterated his displeasure with the US’ trade imbalances with other countries and has threated to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on semiconductors, Lien said.
It is unclear if Trump would levy tariffs on advanced chips or all chips and whether he is targeting consumer products or intermediate goods, he said.
Tariffs on intermediate goods would harm Taiwanese firms, because many make electronic components used in artificial intelligence systems, smartphones, notebook computers and other technology applications, Lien said.
The critical sub-index on new business orders shed 1.2 points to 49.7, while the gauge on industrial production tumbled 7.1 points to 45, the Taipei-based think tank found.
PMI measures seek to capture the manufacturing industry’s health, with scores of 50 and higher indicating expansion and values below the threshold suggesting contraction.
The latest retreat had much to do with the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, Lien said.
Likewise, the measure on inventories added an insignificant 0.8 points to 46.5, while customers’ inventories lost 0.9 points to 45.3, both reflecting a conservative business approach, the CIER said.
Whatever the final tariff outcome is, Taiwan should be braced for unfavorable trade terms under the Trump administration, Lien said.
Nevertheless, local firms displayed positive views about their business six months forward after China introduced a 15 percent subsidy for purchases of consumer technology products, the institute said.
The positive outlook came also because the survey took place before Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, it said, adding that the US is set to raise tariffs on steel imports later this month.
The PMI survey this month might shed a different light on the industry’s business sentiment, Lien said.
The non-manufacturing PMI last month weakened 1.5 points to 55, staying in expansion mode for the 27th consecutive month, as the holiday season provided a boost to all service sectors despite rising operating costs and service charges, the institute said.
Non-manufacturers are looking at a business slowdown, given the six-month business outlook gauge softened 0.9 points to 49.6, the first contraction sign since November 2023, with the poor sentiment showing among retailers, wholesale operators and real-estate brokers, it said.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle