INDUSTRY-WIDE GROWTH: Firms selling electrical and machinery equipment posted increases in business activity following a 16-month hiatus, suggesting a broad recovery

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 06, 2020
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month accelerated to 57.7, the fastest pickup since March 2018, as operating conditions brightened further on the back of new technology product launches, holiday inventory demand and 5G deployment, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.

It was the third straight month that the critical economic gauge rose with all sectors reporting an upturn in business, the first industry-wide growth since May last year, CIER said.

CIER president Chang Chuang-chang (張傳章) attributed the improvement to frontloading ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, new product releases by Apple Inc and continued 5G deployment.

“Even firms selling electrical and machinery equipment reported an uptick after a 16-month hiatus,” Chang said, suggesting that the recovery is across the board and healthy.
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