Industrial production expanded 16.7 percent year-on-year last year, driven by growth in semiconductor, electronics and computers production, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The manufacturing production index — which accounts for 94.63 percent of the overall industrial production index — rose 17.87 percent year-on-year to 113.12 last year, exceeding the ministry’s forecast of between 112.28 and 112.61 and marking a record high for full year, ministry data showed.
That was supported by industrial production growth last month of 21.57 percent year-on-year, while manufacturing production increased for the 22nd consecutive month by 22.98 percent annually.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
The manufacturing production index this month is expected to rise by between 35.6 and 39.7 percent year-on-year, supported by demand for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence (AI), as global investment in AI infrastructure continues, Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Chen Yu-fang (陳玉芳) told a news conference in Taipei.
The manufacturing production index this year is expected to continue benefiting from demand for AI servers, high-performance computing applications and advanced chip packaging, Chen said.
While the first quarter is traditionally a slow season for the information and communications technology industry, that pattern could change this year, as AI-related demand is expected to offset seasonal weakness, she said.
Traditional industries last year faced oversupply pressure from China, but the effect has begun to ease, she said.
The US’ decision to lower tariffs on Taiwanese exports to 15 percent is also expected to boost the international competitiveness of Taiwan’s traditional manufacturers this year, as it would place them on a more level playing field with Japanese and South Korean rivals, she said.
Last month, production of electronic components such as ICs, motherboards and memory products rose 19.32 percent, while output of computers, electronic products and optical components surged 133.1 percent, driven by demand from AI and cloud computing applications that boosted investment in semiconductor and server production, Chen said.
Production of flat panels and related components rose 4 percent last month, ending a period of decline, as gains in small and medium-sized panels offset weakness in larger products, she said.
Traditional industries continued to face pressure from oversupply in China, with base metal production — primarily steel — falling 9.56 percent, production of chemical materials and fertilizers declining 3.42 percent, and vehicle output dropping 1.57 percent from a year earlier, she said.
Machinery equipment production rose 1.6 percent as demand for chipmaking equipment remained robust, she said.
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
RSS