Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwan's industrial production for June rose year-on-year for the second consecutive month largely because of growing global demand for high-tech gadgets, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Monday.
The June industrial production index rose 3.14 percent from a year earlier to 111.35 after a 0.85 percent year-on-year increase in May, as the electronics sector enters its traditional peak season, the MOEA data showed.
The June figures reflect a relatively long period of steady growth in output, interrupted only in April when the industrial production index unexpectedly fell 0.15 percent due to higher than expected inventory adjustments by customers of Taiwan's electronics vendors and volatile commodity prices.
The April decline ended eight straight months of output growth.
Wang Shu-chuan, deputy director of the MOEA's statistics department, said solid global demand helped Taiwanese producers record higher than expected production growth in June.
The MOEA had expected that industrial production in June would grow 1-2 percent from a year earlier.
The growth in June production echoed a 13 percent year-on-year increase in June export orders, and indicated that the global economic recovery remained on track, Wang said.
The MOEA said the manufacturing sector sub-index, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the overall industrial production index, grew year-on-year for the 14th consecutive month in June, rising 3.6 percent.
In the first six months of the year, industrial production grew 3.24 percent from a year earlier, while manufacturing production gained 4.65 percent, indicating that Taiwan's manufacturing sector is on the path to a stable recovery, Wang said.
The electronics component industry, benefiting from the end of global semiconductor inventory adjustments in June, saw output rise 4.57 percent in June from a year earlier, with IC production up 9.22 percent, the MOEA said.
Also in the electronics component industry, production of flat panels and related products rose 10.39 percent year-on-year in June on the back of strong sales in large-sized TV screens, the MOEA added.
Bucking the uptrend, the output of the computer and optoelectronics industry fell 0.04 percent in June because of reduced demand for virtual reality devices, the MOEA said.
The chemical industry reported a 4.01 percent year-on-year increase in production in June partly due to the relatively low base of comparison from a year earlier but also because of a spike in buying of certain resin products, the MOEA added.
Machinery production rose 10.80 percent in June, marking the eighth consecutive month of growth at a time of rising demand for automation equipment and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, according to the MOEA.
Production of base metal products fell 5.72 percent in June when some steel makers were down for annual maintenance, cutting output, and the output of auto and auto part industry fell 5.16 percent because of a relatively high base of comparison, the ministry said.
