AI demand lifts Taiwan's industrial production in September, outlook upbeat

Taipei, Oct. 23 (CNA) Strong AI demand drove Taiwan's industrial production index up 15.48 percent year-on-year in September to 115.38, with the manufacturing sector production index for the whole year expected to grow more than 10 percent from 2024, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said Thursday.

The ministry's data showed that the manufacturing production index climbed 16.90 percent from a year earlier to 116.51 in September. Both the overall industrial production index and the manufacturing subindex reached record highs for the month, marking 19 consecutive months of year-on-year growth.

According to the ministry's Department of Statistics, the industrial production index will set a new full-year record if it averages 71.1 over the remaining three months, and overall growth for 2025 will reach 10 percent from 2024 if the monthly average reaches 93.38.

Chen Yu-fang (陳玉芳), deputy director of the Department of Statistics, said sustained demand for AI, high-performance computing, and cloud-data services, coupled with restocking momentum driven by new consumer-electronics products, continued to fuel steady growth in the information and electronics industries.

In the information and electronics sector, boosted by the AI boom, production in the electronic components industry rose 24.39 percent year-on-year in September.

Output in both the integrated circuit and computer, electronics, and optical products industries increased by more than 26 percent, marking 21 consecutive months of growth, the ministry added.

The machinery industry benefited from major semiconductor manufacturer capacity expansion, recording a 10.71 percent year-on-year increase.

Meanwhile, the chemical materials and fertilizer industry, supported by rising demand for polishing silicon wafers from semiconductor clients, saw production edge up 0.44 percent, ending six straight months of decline, the data showed.

Chen said traditional industries remained under pressure from weak global demand and cautious customer sentiment, offsetting part of the overall expansion.

Production in the automobile and auto parts industry dropped 7.82 percent year-on-year, while the base metal industry fell 2.63 percent.