TAIPEI: The production value of Taiwan’s manufacturing sector fell by more than 10 percent last year from the previous year, reversing a year-on-year increase of 3.59 percent recorded a year earlier, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said.
Amid declining international demand, output of the local manufacturing sector totaled NT$12.86 trillion (US$392.48 trillion) last year, down 10.84 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Since the pace of the international economy remains unsteady, it is possible that manufacturing output would not return to growth until the third quarter of this year, the statement said.
The annual decline of 10.84 percent last year was the third steepest after a 19.08 percent fall in 2009 and a 12.6 percent decline in 2001, ministry data showed.
The ministry said that falling international crude oil prices have hurt the pricing power of raw material suppliers. As a result, the output of oil and coal, and chemical industries fell 33.65 percent and 20.13 percent, respectively, to NT$835 billion and NT$1.66 trillion last year, data showed.
Meanwhile, the production value of the base metals segment shrank 20.45 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.23 trillion in the wake of the weakness in the international steel market, which was impacted by a supply glut.
Bucking the downturn, the semiconductor segment reported a new high in production value, which totaled NT$1.17 trillion, up 6.17 percent from a year earlier.
The ministry said the semiconductor sector benefited from an increase in demand for “smart” devices and its advanced technology helped it secure more orders to reduce the impact from international inventory adjustments seen in the second half of last year.
The computer peripherals segment also outperformed the overall manufacturing sector, with output rising 17.57 percent year-on-year to hit a record high of NT$134 billion, while some other industries such as bicycles, machinery installation and maintenance, glass and cosmetics also recorded high output last year, ministry data showed.
