Growth in Taiwan’s manufacturing sector hit its fastest pace in five years last month, driven by the biggest rise in new orders and production since August 2021 as well as continued growth in employment, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research （CIER, 中華經濟研究院） said yesterday.
However, supplier delivery time increased and inventory expansion slowed due to supply bottlenecks and rising cost pressures, the institute said.
CIER’s seasonally adjusted manufacturing purchasing managers’ index （PMI） rose to 62.5 from 61.5 in July, the 11th consecutive month of expansion and the fastest expansion since August 2021, while the future outlook subindex increased 0.7 percentage points to 65.2, the eighth consecutive month of expansion, the institute said in a report.
The PMI results, based on a monthly survey of companies in six major industries, are measured on a scale of 0 to 100, with readings above 50 indicating growth in factory activity and below 50 indicating decline.
Last month, manufacturing activity expanded in all six major industries, with the electronics and optical devices industry registering the largest expansion, followed by the electricity and machinery equipment industry, the chemicals and biotechnology industry, the basic raw materials industry, the food and textiles industry and the transportation equipment industry, the report said.
For the next six months, only firms in the transportation equipment industry gave a conservative outlook, while companies in the other major industries all expressed optimism amid continued strong demand for artificial intelligence （AI） servers, data centers, high-end computer chips, advanced semiconductor specialty chemicals and high-speed optical communications, as well as rising investment in liquefied natural gas-related infrastructure, it said.
Services activity remained elevated last month, despite its rate of expansion slowing from July, a separate survey showed.
The nonmanufacturing index （NMI） remained in expansion mode for the 18th month in a row, although it edged down 1.7 percentage points to 55.6, which the institute attributed to the slowing momentum in business activity, new orders and employment.
The institute said that all eight major service industries’ NMIs and their outlooks for the next six months showed expansion, indicating that the non-manufacturing sector still has broad support.
However, business prospects among service industries varied, as the accommodation and food service industry and the construction and real-estate industry are affected by seasonal demand and government policies, and the finance and insurance industry is tied to sentiment in financial markets, the institute said.
The retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing, and communication and broadcasting industries would leverage their exposure to AI-related business, it added.
資料來源：自由時報 2026/09/02 03:00
By Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporter