REDIRECTED ORDERS: Apart from a rise in local production, firms have also seen a jump in orders from US customers, in particular for items facing the highest tariffs

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 24, 2018
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Indices tracking the nation’s industrial production last month continued to expand and hit a new high for October, as the ongoing US-China trade dispute compelled companies to relocate production to Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

The industrial production index rose 4.35 percent month-on-month and 8.25 percent year-on-year to 116.38, while the index for manufacturing, the pillar of industrial output, climbed 5.18 percent month-on-month and 9.24 percent year-on-year, with both indicators continuing an eight-month growth streak, Department of Statistics data showed.

Apart from a rise in local production, businesses have also seen a jump in orders from US customers, in particular for items facing the highest tariffs such as networking equipment and servers, Department of Statistics Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) told a news conference in Taipei.

As companies redirect orders, the output index tracking the nation’s computer, electronics and optolectronics sectors last month increased 13.05 percent month-on-month and 23.87 percent year-on-year to 137.67, the fastest growth since October 2011.    [FULL  STORY]