Industrial electricity consumption declined 4.48 percent year-on-year last month, ending a 10-month streak of growth as the Lunar New Year holiday reduced the number of working days, the Taiwan Research Institute (台灣綜合研究院) said in a report yesterday.
However, the semiconductor sector bucked the trend, using 1.8 percent more power to meet strong demand for new technologies, such as high-performance computing, cloud computing, generative artificial intelligence (AI) and smart devices, the report said.
Tech companies also ramped up production ahead of potential US tariff hikes, it added.
Photo: CNA
The electricity prosperity index (EPI), which the institute uses to gauge the health of industrial sectors, signaled “yellow-red” for the ninth consecutive month, consistent with ongoing economic expansion, it said.
Non-tech sectors were less fortunate as they remained weighed by unfavorable global economic trends, rising costs and sharpening competition from lower-cost manufacturers in China, Vietnam and Thailand, the report said.
Taiwan’s strict environmental policies have increased production costs, while global shifts toward green chemicals are adding pressure to chemical product makers, it said.
Additionally, China, once a major importer of Taiwan’s chemicals, has expanded its domestic production, reducing reliance on Taiwan, it added.
The report also shed light on different power use declines among local sectors last month, with the high-voltage industrial sector falling 3.79 percent, the manufacturing sector dropping 4.16 percent and the service sector down 1.89 percent.
Looking ahead, the AI boom would continue to fuel growth for the semiconductor sector, helping to offset some of the downturn in non-tech industries and support Taiwan’s overall economy, the institute said.
Taiwan must closely monitor global economic uncertainties such as US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats to mitigate downside risks to local industries, it said.
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