Manufacturing output last quarter declined for a third straight quarter, shrinking 7.01 percent year-on-year to NT$3.37 trillion (US$110.46 billion), the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said yesterday, attributing it to sluggish global economic growth due to the US-China trade conflict.
While the manufacturing sector would continue to bear the weight of the trade tensions, companies’ relocating their production back to Taiwan, new technologies and various applications, including 5G, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, could help drive up output going forward, the ministry said.
The decline in output last quarter was led by the electronics components industry — the manufacturing sector’s most important industry — which slid 3.81 percent to NT$940.6 billion, it said.
Photo: CNA
LCD production, for one, declined as the market remained oversaturated due to increasing Chinese supplies, it said.
However, an increase in chip production as companies build inventory ahead of new product launches helped cushion the fall, it added.
Output from the computer, electronics goods and optical components industry expanded 25.85 percent on an annual basis to hit a six-year high of NT$207.2 billion, thanks to increasing production of servers, networking and communications equipment, automotive electronic control units and thermostat controllers.
New smartphone models driving up production of camera lenses further contributed to the industry’s output last quarter, the ministry said.
Affected by falling international crude oil prices and routine plant maintenance, chemical materials output fell 23.95 percent to NT$400.7 billion, the ministry said.
Base metal output sank 13.41 percent to NT$338.1 billion, as the steel market was hit by US and European tariffs, cheap imported steel products and waning demand for new vehicles, it said.
As companies put their brakes on investing in equipment due to rising market uncertainties stemming from the US-China trade dispute, the machinery equipment industry’s output contracted 13.22 percent to NT$159.2 billion.
For the eighth quarter in a row, the vehicle and auto parts industry’s output declined 4.04 percent to NT$84.4 billion, as domestic automakers faced tough import competition and customers digested inventory, it said.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in