Taiwan's industrial production up for 12th straight month

Taipei, March 26 (CNA) Taiwan's industrial production rose sharply from a year earlier in February, the 12th consecutive month of year-on-year growth at a time when emerging technologies continue to boost global demand, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

The industrial production index rose 17.91 percent from a year earlier in February to hit 99.44, while the manufacturing sector sub-index, which accounts for more than 90 percent of total production, rose 18.95 percent from a year earlier to 92.76, MOEA data showed.

In the first two months of this year, Taiwan's industrial production index grew 10.88 percent from a year earlier to 92.48, while the sub-index for the manufacturing sector rose 11.58 percent to 94.59, the data showed.

Huang Wei-jie (黃偉傑), deputy head of the MOEA's Department of Statistics, said Taiwan's export-oriented manufacturing sector was again boosted by strong demand for artificial intelligence and high performance computing devices, driving up semiconductor production.

During the January-February period, the sub-index for the electronics component industry rose 17.97 percent from a year earlier as pure play wafer foundry operators and IC assembly and testing and mother board suppliers saw their production boom, the MOEA said.

The sub-index for the computer and optoelectronics sector soared even higher, by 30.42 percent, in the two-month period due to growing production of smartphone cameras, servers and other communications devices, and semiconductor testing equipment during the AI era, MOEA data showed.

The old economy sector remained largely in the doldrums over the two months, with the base metal industry's production sub-index down 9.00 percent from a year earlier, a decline Huang attributed to weakening steel prices in the global market.

The chemical material and fertilizer sector sub-index also fell 1.80 percent from a year earlier in the two months amid escalating global competition, while the auto and auto part sector saw its sub-index tumble 11.62 percent on an increase in imported models and a shortage of raw materials used in auto part production, the MOEA said.

Bucking the downtrend, the machinery industry benefited from capacity expansion in the semiconductor sector, which boosted demand for equipment, with its production sub-index gaining 11.32 percent from a year earlier in the two-month period, the MOEA added.

Looking ahead, the MOEA said the sub-index of the manufacturing sector for March is expected to range between 102.99 and 106.99, up 10.5-14.8 percent from a year earlier.

Huang said the semiconductor industry is expected to stay strong in the first quarter of this year, which should help boost the manufacturing sector's sub-index by 11.2-12.7 percent.