Production indices hit new high

Taiwan’s industrial production last month set a new record, with the index soaring more than 23 percent from a year earlier due to robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

Ministry data showed the local industrial production index rose 23.47 percent from a year earlier to 145.97, beating the previous high of 143.32 in July, while the subindex of the manufacturing sector, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the country’s production, rose 24.61 percent to 148.42.

Last month was the 30th consecutive month that both indices moved higher on a year-on-year basis, the data showed.

A man works at a processing plant in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District on Feb. 25.

Photo: CNA

In the first eight months of this year, the industrial production index rose 20.80 percent from a year earlier to 132.24, with the subindex of the manufacturing sector rising 22.14 percent to 134.60, the ministry said.

Last month, the electronic components industry saw its production rise 21.68 percent from a year earlier as demand for high-performance computing devices and other AI-related applications pushed up production by Taiwanese 12-inch pure play foundry operators, DRAM suppliers, IC assembly and testing firms, and IC designers, the ministry said.

Inside the electronic components industry, production by integrated circuit firms rose 24.24 percent from a year earlier last month, it said.

Riding the waves of AI applications and cloud services, which boosted demand for AI servers, switches, semiconductor inspection and automation equipment, the local computer and optoelectronics industry posted a 95.72 percent year-on-year increase in production last month.

The traditional sector appeared mixed due to uneven strength in recovery, ministry data showed.

Last month, production in the machinery industry rose 18.65 percent from a year earlier largely because semiconductor suppliers were keen to expand capacity through equipment purchases to meet global AI demand, the data showed.

The base metal industry’s output slid 0.36 percent year-on-year last month as demand for select products such as hot rolled steel sheets stayed slow, while the chemicals and fertilizer industry fell 5.81 percent on weak demand, with some firms cutting production in response to the market, the ministry said.

Chen Yu-fang (陳玉芳), deputy head of the ministry’s Department of Statistics, said the old economy sector has shown signs of improving since March, as AI development created spillover, allowing some industries to move more raw materials used in tech gadgets.

The ministry said that while the global economy remains impacted by various trade policies and geopolitical unease, Taiwan’s exports are expected to continue to benefit from the AI boom, which would boost production in the manufacturing sector.

The subindex of the manufacturing sector is expected to range between 146.03 and 150.03 this month, or 22.5 to 25.8 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said.