The nation’s industrial production last month rose 5.24 percent annually, slightly higher than the government’s forecast of 5 percent, supported by robust activity in traditional sectors that offset the sluggish performance in the electronics sector, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The manufacturing production index, which contributed 92.76 percent to total industrial production, rose 5.36 percent last month from a year earlier, ministry data showed.
“The production of traditional sectors, such as machinery goods, automobiles and auto parts, grew faster than the government’s estimate,” Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan told a news conference.
The electronics sector, which accounted for nearly 30 percent of total manufacturing production, dropped 0.35 percent annually, the first annual contraction this year, the data showed.
Wang attributed the decline to an 8.02 percent annual decline in semiconductor production, which was dragged down by weaker-than-expected production in 12-inch wafers due to inventory adjustment and a higher comparison base from the corresponding period last year.
Machinery goods production jumped 23.62 percent year-on-year, fueled by increasing demand for machine tools and equipment used in the semiconductor, automotive and aviation industries, Wang said.
Automobiles and auto parts grew 15.21 percent annually, thanks to robust orders for auto parts in North America and China, she said.
Supported by increasing crude oil prices and rising demand for steel, production in petrochemicals and basic metals continued to grow last month from the same period a year earlier, with petrochemicals expanding 4.23 percent annually and basic metals rising 9.79 percent, Wang said.
The ministry forecast that the manufacturing production index this month will increase 4 percent annually on the back of demand from traditional industries and the electronics sector, she said.
In a separate release, the ministry said that revenue in the wholesale sector last month rose 6.7 percent year-on-year to NT$882 billion (US$29.15 billion) on the sales of an international company’s newly launched smartphones, automotive electronic devices and cloud-enabled devices.
Retail revenue beat expectations with 3.2 percent annual growth to NT$341.2 billion, driven by robust sales of international car brands, Wang said.
Revenue in the beverage and restaurant sector rose by 0.9 percent annually to NT$35.5 billion, due mainly to restaurant chain operators’ outlet expansions and hot weather that spurred demand for cold drinks, she said.
The ministry expects revenue in the wholesale sector to rise 5.6 percent annually this month, the retail sector 2.8 percent, and the beverage and restaurant sector 1.4 percent, Wang said. |
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