CONTRACTION: The index could remain soft this month, as smartphone demand might not pick up until the release of new models in the third quarter, an official said

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 26, 2019
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s industrial output contracted 1.8 percent last month from a year earlier as demand for electronics weakened amid a low sales season for technology products and a global economic slowdown, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

The critical economic index fell to 86.15 last month, down 1.8 percent year-on-year and down 19.78 percent month-on-month, Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) said, adding that February’s fewer working days also contributed to the decline.

The index might remain soft this month, with a decline of 4 to 7 percent, as demand for smartphones might not pick up until the release of new models in the third quarter, Wang said.

Electronics makers saw output fall 6.14 percent from a year earlier, with sales for chips, flat panels and related components all taking a downturn, the ministry’s report showed.
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