Taiwan: Industrial output growth gains steam in March
Industrial output grew 16.8% year-on-year in March (February: +2.5% yoy). The reading reflected a broad-based upturn, with activity in the manufacturing, electricity and gas supply, mining and water supply sub-sectors all improving in March.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, factory output fell 1.1% in March (February: +3.9% mom), the worst result since February 2020. Meanwhile, the trend pointed up, with the annual average growth of industrial production coming in at plus 7.9% in March, up from February’s 7.5% reading.
On March’s reading and the outlook, Iris Pang, China economist at ING, said:
“Industrial production jumped in March from a year ago, partly as activity increased to match chip demand and partly due to the Chinese New Year in February which squeezed some production activity into March. Looking forward, the key risk surrounds water shortages, which have affected semiconductor production.”