Industrial production expanded 24.63 percent annually last quarter after the index climbed to a new high of 136.9 last month, driven by strong demand for cloud-based servers and semiconductors amid the race in artificial-intelligence (AI) infrastructure investments, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Manufacturing production jumped 26.52 percent year-on-year in the first quarter as the index surged 30.73 percent annually to a record-high of 139.92 last month, the ministry said, adding that it was the 25th straight month of growth.
The ministry expected the growth to carry into the current quarter, thanks to the sustainable AI boom. The Middle East conflict is not expected to have a significant impact on local electronics manufacturers’ production, it said.
Photo: CNA
The geopolitical tensions are expected to have a mild impact on traditional sectors, as the government has adopted a multiple chemical and energy sourcing strategy and boosted inventories.
Under such circumstances, the ministry said manufacturing production this month would expand between 17.7 percent and 21.3 percent on an annual basis.
However, the growth rate could decelerate in the following months due to a higher base, it said.
Computer-related devices, such as servers, switches and semiconductor inspection tools, and optoelectronics saw the strongest growth, soaring 146.32 percent annually last month, and spiking 131.77 percent annually last quarter.
That was followed by the electronic component segment, with production expanding 27.87 percent year-on-year last month to an all-time high, and rising 25.6 percent annually last quarter. Among this subindex, semiconductor production jumped 33.68 percent annually last month to a historical high, bringing quarterly growth to 29.73 percent annually.
Flat-panel display production, another component of the electronic component subindex, weakened 14.66 percent annually last month, and slid 8.72 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the statistics showed.
In traditional sectors, machinery equipment, basic metals and auto and related components emerged from a prolonged slump, registering an annual growth of 7.48 percent, 5.54 percent and 0.1 percent respectively, the statistics showed.
However, chemical materials and fertilizer production remained in negative territory, shrinking 3.88 percent year-on-year last month.
Last quarter as a whole, only machinery equipment reposted an annual growth of 6.87 percent in production, thanks to increasing demand from semiconductor companies due to capacity expansions.
Basic metals, chemical materials and fertilizers, and auto and related components all reported annual reductions of 1.5 percent, 3.09 percent and 2.02 percent respectively last quarter, due to intensified competition and sluggish demand.
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