Taiwan’s manufacturing output last quarter shrank 9.44 percent from a year earlier to NT$4.54 trillion (US$142.52 billion) due to tepid end-market demand for tech and non-tech products and lingering inventory adjustments, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a report released yesterday.
Output was down for a fourth consecutive quarter, dragged also by firms’ lack of interest in capital spending in the face of a business slowdown, the report said.
Industrial production fell by a steeper 11.43 percent to 87.69, marking the fifth straight quarter of decline, as all major sectors took a hit from global inflation and restrictive monetary policy, it said.
Photo: CNA
Electronic component manufacturers reported an industrial output of NT$1.38 trillion, declining 11.95 percent year-on-year, as demand for chips softened and clients digested inventories, limiting business for local suppliers of chips, printed circuit boards and Ajinomoto build-up film, or ABF, substrates, it said.
Flat panels bucked the downtrend by posting a 28.05 percent gain to NT$146.8 billion, thanks to restocking demand for large-screen TVs, it said.
Industrial production for computers and optical devices picked up 17.05 percent to a new high of NT$369.5 billion, driven by strong demand for data centers, cloud solutions and artificial intelligence (AI) applications, it said, adding that servers were a main beneficiary.
Suppliers of non-tech products fared weaker, as industrial output at firms making chemical materials and fertilizers slumped 16.64 percent, base metals fell 14.75 percent and machinery equipment contracted 14.51 percent, it said.
As global trade slowed, companies turned conservative on purchases of machinery equipment and input materials, it said.
Chips and parts used in vehicles held steady, with industrial output edging up 1.97 percent to NT$127.9 billion, as major players stimulated sales through active promotions and new model launches, it said.
Taiwanese manufacturers might come out of the woods with the release of new-generation technology products and peak sales season in China and the West, the ministry said.
Several tech firms earlier gave a positive business guidance for this quarter and beyond ahead of China’s Singles’ Day shopping festival this month and the upcoming holiday season in the West.
Booming demand from high-performance computing, AI and electric vehicles would continue to benefit local suppliers, the ministry said.
However, companies need to need to remain alert amid rising geopolitical tensions, technology competition between the US and China and the unfavorable impact of previous rate hikes, it said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$7.5 billion into its US subsidiary, the Department of Investment Review said in a statement. The department approved TSMC’s application of investing in TSMC Arizona Corp, which is engaged in the manufacturing, sales, testing and design of IC and other semiconductor devices, it said. The latest capital injection follows a US$5 billion investment for TSMC Arizona approved in June. The chipmaker has broken ground on two advanced fabs in Arizona with aggregated investments approved by the department totaling US$24 billion thus far. According to TSMC, the first Arizona
The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers might have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that is not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say. The response from the companies at the center of the booby-trapped gadgets that killed 37
FRIENDLY TAKEOVER: While Qualcomm Inc’s proposal to buy some or all of Intel raises the prospect of other competitors, Broadcom Inc is staying on the sidelines Qualcomm Inc has approached Intel Corp to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever merger and acquisition deals. California-based Qualcomm proposed a friendly takeover for Intel in recent days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The proposal is for all of the chipmaker, although Qualcomm has not ruled out buying some parts of Intel and selling off others. It is uncertain whether the initial approach would lead to an agreement and any deal is likely to come under close antitrust scrutiny
SECURITY CONCERNS: The proposed ban on Chinese autonomous vehicle software and hardware would go into effect with the 2027 and 2030 model years respectively The US Department of Commerce today is expected to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on US roads due to national security concerns, two sources said. US President Joe Biden’s administration has raised concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on US drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the Internet and navigation systems. The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the