Taiwan: Industrial activity drops at sharpest pace since March 2019 in September
Industrial production fell 4.8% year on year in September (August: +3.3% yoy). September’s result marked the worst reading since March 2019 and was far weaker than market expectations. The soft reading was likely due to easing global economic momentum—particularly in China. The result largely reflected falls in manufacturing and energy production. In addition, water supply and mining production lost pace.
On a monthly basis, factory output plummeted 5.5% in seasonally adjusted terms in September, which was far greater than Augusts 0.9% fall and marked the worst result since March. Meanwhile, the trend pointed down, with the annual average growth of industrial production coming in at 5.0%, down from August’s 6.5% reading.