Taiwan's industrial production smashes records in 2025 on AI boom

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) Taiwan's industrial production hit a fresh high in 2025, up over 16 percent from a year earlier, as AI applications continued to boost global consumption, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Friday.

Data compiled by the MOEA showed the country's industrial production index rose 16.70 percent from a year earlier to 112.16 in 2025, while the subindex for the manufacturing sector, which accounts for over 90 percent of the total, rose 17.87 percent to 113.12.

Chen Yu-fang (陳玉芳), deputy head of the MOEA's Department of Statistics, said AI, high-performance computing devices and cloud service drove production of tech industries higher in 2025.

Last year, the electronics component industry's production rose 24.71 percent from a year earlier, while the computer/optoelectronics industry's production grew 56.43 percent.

In December alone, the industrial production index rose 21.57 percent to 131.76, marking the 22nd consecutive month of year-on-year growth, while the manufacturing sector's subindex gained 22.98 percent to 133.94.

The MOEA said AI applications continued to boost demand for 12-inch wafers, IC design, IC packaging and testing services and memory chips in December, boosting production in the electronics component industry by 19.32 percent from a year earlier in December.

The computer and optoelectronics industry scored 133.10 percent year-on-year in production in December as AI development and semiconductor investments pushed up demand for products including servers and semiconductor inspection equipment, the MOEA added.

Still, Chen said the strength of the major old economy industries stayed uneven due to weakening global demand and a production glut in China.

Production of base metals, chemical materials/fertilizers and auto/auto part industries fell 9.56 percent, 3.42 percent and 1.57 percent, respectively, from a year earlier in December, the MOEA said.

However, the MOEA said, the machinery industry saw production rise 1.60 percent from a year earlier in December as semiconductor suppliers continued expansion.

Chen said the weakness of the old economy sector showed signs of moderating during November-December but it still needs some time to observe whether the trend will continue.

Another bright side is that a trade agreement between Taiwan and the United States to cut tariffs on Taiwanese goods, putting Taiwan on an equal footing as its major competitors, which could benefit old economy industries.

In January, the subindex of the manufacturing sector is forecast to range between 130.69 and 134.69, up 35.6 to 39.7 percent from a year earlier, Chen said, adding that the growth also reflected a relatively low comparison base in January 2025, when the Chinese New Year holiday fell.