Taiwan: Industrial production surges in April on a low base effect and a healthy electronics sector
Industrial output growth accelerated sharply in April, to 8.5% in annual terms, up from a significantly upwardly revised 5.6% in March (previously reported: +3.1% year-on-year). However, this strong growth print can partly be explained by a favorable base effect, as industrial output in the same month last year was much lower than average.
Manufacturing output—which represents more than 90% of total industrial production—drove the reading in April, expanding 9.1% year-on-year (March: +5.6% yoy, previously reported: +3.2%). This performance was in turn largely due to strong growth in the production of electronic parts and components, which recorded the highest growth since February 2017. Meanwhile, activity in the mining and quarrying industry contracted for the third consecutive month, while supply of water, and electricity and gas grew moderately.
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, industrial output fell 3.0% over the previous month in April, contrasting March’s revised 3.5% growth (previously reported: +0.2% month-on-month). Annual average growth in industrial production increased from 3.4% in March to 4.1% in April.