Taiwan's industrial production up for 25th straight month in March

Taipei, April 24 (CNA) Taiwan's industrial production rose over 28 percent from a year earlier in March, marking the 25th consecutive month of year-on-year growth amid a global AI boom, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

The industrial production index rose 28.68 percent from a year earlier to a new high of 136.90 in March, the MOEA said in a statement Thursday.

The manufacturing sector sub-index, which accounts for more than 90 percent of total production, rose 30.73 percent year-over-year to a record 139.92, the MOEA said.

In the first quarter of 2026, the industrial production index rose 24.63 percent from a quarter earlier to 123.05 -- the second highest quarterly reading on record -- while the manufacturing sub-index rose 26.52 percent to a new quarterly high of 125.43, the MOEA said.

Chen Yu-fang (陳玉芳), deputy head of the ministry's Department of Statistics, said robust global demand for AI applications and high performance computing devices continued to lend support to Taiwan's industrial production.

Chen said the military conflict in the Middle East had only a limited adverse impact on Taiwan's production as many foreign companies remained keen to expand their AI investments, benefiting Taiwan's semiconductor and AI server suppliers.

While the Middle East war affected the availability of some petrochemical raw material supplies, Chen said inventories of those supplies and government assistance in securing alternative supplies mitigated the impact of potential shortages in March.

The production index of the local electronics component industry rose 27.87 percent in March from a year earlier to a new high of 147.02, while the index for semiconductor firms also hit a new high of 170.79, up 33.68 percent.

Both indexes moved higher for the 27th consecutive month, the MOEA said.

The computer/electronics and optoelectronics sector saw production surge 146.3 percent from a year earlier in March as massive overseas investments in cloud infrastructure and semiconductors boosted demand for Taiwan-made servers, switches and semiconductor inspection equipment, the MOEA said.

In the old economy sector, the MOEA said, the index for the base metal industry posted a 5.54 percent year-over-year increase in production in March, helped by a relatively low comparison base over March 2025 and clients' moves to rebuild inventories.

The MOEA said the index for the machinery industry's production rose 7.48 percent from March 2025 as semiconductor suppliers continued to buy equipment for expansion.

But the index for the production of chemical material and fertilizer companies suffered a 3.88 percent year-on-year decline amid escalating international competition, according to MOEA figures.

Looking ahead, Chen said local industrial production could continue to increase in April. She expected the sub-index for the manufacturing sector to grow 17.7-21.3 percent from a year earlier to 130.70-134.70 in April.