UNCERTAINTIES: The manufacturing sub-index fell 1.45% last year, led by a 2.37% drop in electronic components production due to slower-than-expected demand

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 24, 2019
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Industrial production last month fell 1.22 percent compared with a year earlier, ending a nine-month streak of consecutive gains amid continued uncertainties about ongoing trade disputes, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

Last month’s industrial production index dropped 1.15 percent from November to 110.31 points, marking a turning point from gains made in the first 10 months of last year.

The sub-index for the manufacturing sector, which accounts for more than 90 percent of total industrial production, declined at a quicker rate, dropping 1.45 percent from a year earlier to 111.42 points.

Electronic components production, representing the bulk of the manufacturing sector, fell 2.37 percent annually due to slower-than-expected demand for consumer electronics, the ministry said, adding that customers have begun to tighten their inventories.
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