BOOST:Among the manufacturing industries, the chemical industry recorded the highest production growth on the back of higher crude oil prices and a tight supply.
The nation’s industrial production index last month rose 3.09 percent annually to a record high of 117.14, supported by robust demand for semiconductors and machinery products, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The index rose 3.99 percent year-on-year to 108.98 in the first quarter of this year, the seventh consecutive quarter of annual increases, Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan told a news conference.
The industrial production index gauges output in the nation’s five main industries: manufacturing, mining and quarrying, electricity and gas supply, water supply and architectural engineering.
The manufacturing production index, which makes up 92.76 percent of total industrial production, also reached a record of 119.75 last month, a 3.2 percent increase from a year earlier, the ministry said.
Among the manufacturing industries, the chemical industry posted the highest production growth by value last month on the back of higher crude oil prices and a tight supply in Asia’s petrochemical market, it said.
Chemical goods production last month increased 8.31 percent annually, the ministry added.
The electronics sector, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of manufacturing, last month rose 6.49 percent annually, supported mainly by increasing orders for integrated circuits and silicon wafers, ministry data showed.
The value of machinery production grew 6 percent annually, as businesses began to expand their production capacities and pour capital into automated equipment, they showed.
The ministry expects the manufacturing production index to rise 5 percent annually this month.
In a separate release, the ministry said the nation’s wholesale sector revenues last month grew 4.1 percent annually to NT$869.6 billion (US$29.45 billion), on the back of upcoming launches of new mobile phones.
Revenue in the retail sector last month rose 5 percent annually to NT$341.4 billion, while sales in the restaurant and beverage sector rose 7.4 percent to NT$37.2 billion over the period.
The ministry partly attributed the performance to the launch of French Michelin Co’s guide for Taipei restaurants, which boosted the restaurant sector.
Sales this month are expected to outpace last month, as growth momentum is expected to persist due to promotional campaigns for Mother’s Day next month, it said. |
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