Taiwan manufacturing output up 4.94% for second quarter

TAIPEI - Taiwan manufacturing output gained 4.94% on-year to NT$3.67 trillion (US$122.19 billion) in the second quarter, reflecting an improving economy at home and abroad, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. “The gain is the best since the third quarter of 2011,” an MOEA official said. “We remain cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the second half, which is usually much busier for manufacturers.”

MOEA figures show that five of Taiwan’s six major sectors posted gains in the quarter, with only computers, electronics and opticals experiencing a decline - of 1.23%. Electronic components and parts remain Taiwan’s leading manufacturing sector, gaining 5.57% to NT$937.4 billion.
“The strong showing is due to the introduction of new mobile devices that pushed up demand for contract foundry services, integrated circuits and memory products,” an MOEA official said.
Chemicals and basic metals performed well, gaining 3.78% to NT$542.1 billion and 8.39% to NT$396.4 billion, respectively, as local petrochemical firms began stocking up in preparation for annual maintenance in the third quarter and global prices of metal products continued to rise.
Machinery output rose 7.73% to NT$166.3 billion on the back of booming demand for Taiwan’s automated equipment and machine tools. While comprising only 3% of Taiwan’s total output at NT$114.3 billion, automobiles, related components and parts outperformed all other sectors with a gain of 23.18% from a year ago, the second highest on record. www.taiwantoday.cn (ATI).