Taiwan: Industrial activity records largest decline in 10 months in February
Industrial output fell 1.1% in year-on-year terms in February, which contrasted January’s 15.6% increase. The figure was largely due to a deterioration in manufacturing output. In addition, electricity and gas supply output decelerated. That said, February’s weaker reading was to be expected, given that the Lunar New Year festivities fell in February this year vs January in 2023, leading to reduced working days this February relative to last February.
On a monthly basis, industrial output grew 3.5% in seasonally adjusted terms in February, which was significantly better than January’s 1.0% expansion and marked the best result since April 2019. Meanwhile, the trend improved significantly, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 8.9% in February, up from January’s minus 9.5%.
Rising demand for AI and cloud applications, an upturn in electronics demand and a low base effect should support a strong expansion in industrial production over 2024 as a whole.