Taipei, June 23 (CNA) Taiwan's industrial production returned to year-on-year growth in May following an unexpected decline a month earlier on the back of solid global demand for electronic devices, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said on Friday.
The local industrial production index for May rose 0.78 percent from a year earlier to 109.63 after a year-on-year fall of 0.15 percent in April, data compiled by the MOEA shows.
The sub-index for the manufacturing sector, which accounted for more than 90 percent of total industrial production, grew 2.02 percent from a year earlier in May, marking the 13th consecutive month of growth, the data indicates.
The MOEA said that the electronic component business gave a big boost to the manufacturing sector in May with output of the business up 5.19 percent from a year earlier.
During the month, production of semiconductor makers in the electronic component business rose 11.96 percent from a year earlier after inventories were reduced in the global market, while output of flat panel makers also gained 11.28 percent year-on-year, on growing global demand, the MOEA said.
However, production of computers, handheld devices, virtual reality products and optoelectronic devices fell 12.23 percent from a year earlier in May amid escalating competition in the global market, the MOEA said, adding that the steep decline in output also resulted from a shortage of critical components needed to roll out these products during the month.
The MOEA said that production of the chemical material sector rose 3.25 percent from a year earlier in May due to the completion of annual maintenance on some naphtha cracking firms, while output of base metal rose 2.70 percent as buyers rebuilt their inventories.
The machinery sector posted a 7.48 percent year-on-year increase in output in May, marking the seventh consecutive month of growth, while the auto/auto part sector saw its production falling 7.86 percent in the wake of the threat posted by imported cars, the MOEA said.
In the first five months of this year, Taiwan's industrial production gained 3.24 percent from a year earlier, while production of the manufacturing sector rose 4.88 percent year-on-year, the data shows. Wang Shu-chuan, deputy director of the MOEA's statistics department, said she remained upbeat about June, anticipating that industrial production for that month will continue to grow by 1 percent-2 percent from a year earlier.
Wang forecast that industrial production for the second quarter will rise 1.5 percent from a year earlier, saying that year-on-year growth for the first half of the year is expected to hit 4 percent.
She said that international brands are expected to unveil new mobile devices in the second half of the year and that demand for steel and petrochemical products, as well as machinery, could remain solid, so Taiwan's industrial production could continue to move higher from a year earlier over the next six months.
