The production value of the nation’s manufacturing sector last quarter plunged 15.01 percent on an annual basis to NT$3.16 trillion (US$96.17 billion) — its worst showing since the first quarter of 2010 — the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The figure shows that the sector’s decline has accelerated from the second quarter’s 9.21 percent fall, and marks the steepest decline since the global financial crisis in 2009, the ministry said.
On a quarterly basis, the sector’s production value declined 5.14 percent.
“The manufacturing sector’s production value in the past quarter was heavily influenced by the fall in global crude oil prices and a decline in the value of basic metals,” Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Yang Kuei-hsien (楊貴顯) said by telephone, adding that the drop in oil prices affected demand for Taiwan’s petrochemical products.
“Average oil prices in the third quarter plunged more than 50 percent on an annual basis,” he said.
Due to its economic slowdown, China’s third-quarter orders for Taiwan’s petrochemical products fell steeply from the same period last year, Yang said.
As a result, the production value of the nation’s petrochemical products plummeted 25.13 percent on a yearly basis, he said.
The production value of the nation’s basic metals dropped 27.55 percent year-on-year in the July-to-September quarter, mainly due to a fall in average selling prices and a global oversupply of stainless steel, Yang said.
The electronic components industry, which is the pillar of the nation’s manufacturing sector, saw production value drop 8.45 percent last quarter on an annual basis due to soft demand for consumer electronics products and fierce global competition, he said.
Within the electronic components industry, the production value of flat panels fell 20.27 percent year-on-year and that of machinery goods slowed 7.33 percent in the last quarter, the ministry’s data showed.
The solar power industry was one of the few bright spots in the nation’s manufacturing sector last quarter, Yang said, with production value increasing both annually and quarterly.
“Taiwan’s solar power industry has slowly moved out from the shadows of the US’s anti-dumping tariffs issue. In addition, China’s demand for the nation’s solar power is growing strongly,” Yang said.
Robust demand for Taiwan’s solar power products is expected to maintain into this quarter, he said.
BAIL APPEALS: The former vice premier was ordered to be held incommunicado despite twice being granted bail and paying a total of NT$12 million in bond The Taoyuan District Court yesterday ordered the detention of former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is being investigated for alleged corruption while serving as Taoyuan mayor from December 2014 to December 2022, and that he be held incommunicado. The court made the ruling during a bail hearing after prosecutors appealed its bail ruling twice. Cheng on Saturday was released after posting bail of NT$5 million (US$153,818). However, after prosecutors lodged an appeal, the High Court on Monday revoked the original ruling and ordered the Taoyuan District Court to hold another bail hearing. On Tuesday, the district court granted bail to Cheng a second
The Thai government on Friday announced that Taiwanese would be allowed to stay in the country for up to 60 days per entry, under the Southeast Asian country’s visa-free program starting from today. Taiwan is among 93 countries included in the Thai visa-waiver program, which has been expanded from 57 countries, with the visa-exempt entry extended from 30 to 60 days. After taking office last year, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to grant more visa waivers to foreign travelers as part of efforts to stimulate tourism. The expanded visa-waiver program was on Friday signed by Thai Minister of the Interior Anutin
PEACE AND SECURITY: China’s military ambitions present ‘the greatest strategic challenge to Japan and the world, Japan’s annual defense white paper said yesterday Japan yesterday warned that China risked escalating tensions with Taiwan with an increase in military exercises that appeared aimed in part at readying Beijing’s forces for a possible invasion. Japan’s annual assessment of security threats, including those posed by China, North Korea and Russia, comes as Taiwan closely monitors Chinese People’s Liberation Army air and sea exercises, including one with the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. The drills are the latest in a series including maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait last year that a senior US general said would be key to any invasion. “Because of that increase in military activity,
HAN KUANG: The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers said The armed forces would for the first time test new rules of engagement (ROE) at this month’s annual Han Kuang exercises, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers told a news conference in Taipei. ROE cards would be issued to select combat troops to test their ability to function without tight control, they said. The most recent edition of the rules was published last year, they said. One of the cards’ two templates identifies enemy targets that soldiers