Taipei [Taiwan], October 24 : Strong AI demand drove Taiwan's industrial production index up 15.48 per cent year-on-year in September to 115.38, with the manufacturing sector production index for the whole year expected to grow more than 10 per cent from 2024, according to a report by Focus Taiwan.
Citing the Ministry of Economic Affairs, on Thursday, the report said that the manufacturing production index climbed 16.90 per cent from a year earlier to 116.51 in September. Both the overall industrial production index and the manufacturing subindex reached record highs for the month, marking 19 consecutive months of year-on-year growth.
"According to the ministry's Department of Statistics, the industrial production index will set a new full-year record if it averages 71.1 over the remaining three months, and overall growth for 2025 will reach 10 per cent from 2024 if the monthly average reaches 93.38," the report said.
Chen Yu-fang, deputy director of the Department of Statistics, said sustained demand for AI, high-performance computing, and cloud-data services, coupled with restocking momentum driven by new consumer-electronics products, continued to fuel steady growth in the information and electronics industries.
"In the information and electronics sector, boosted by the AI boom, production in the electronic components industry rose 24.39 per cent year-on-year in September. Output in both the integrated circuit and computer, electronics, and optical products industries increased by more than 26 per cent, marking 21 consecutive months of growth, the ministry added. The machinery industry benefited from major semiconductor manufacturer capacity expansion, recording a 10.71 per cent year-on-year increase," the report noted.
Meanwhile, the chemical materials and fertilizer industry, supported by rising demand for polishing silicon wafers from semiconductor clients, saw production edge up 0.44 per cent, ending six straight months of decline, the data showed.
Chen said traditional industries remained under pressure from weak global demand and cautious customer sentiment, offsetting part of the overall expansion.
Production in the automobile and auto parts industry dropped 7.82 per cent year-on-year, while the base metal industry fell 2.63 per cent.
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