Towards the close of the year, Taiwan's industrial production experienced a notable acceleration, with retail sales marking a consecutive monthly rise, according to data released on Thursday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
In December, industrial production surged by an impressive 19.97% compared to the same month the previous year, a significant increase from the 10.20% growth observed in November. This marks a continuing upward trend that has been evident since March.
Focusing on key industry sectors, manufacturing output witnessed a substantial annual rise of 20.79% in December. In contrast, mining and quarrying recorded a slight downturn of 1.12%. The data also indicated a modest recovery of 0.25% in the electricity and gas supply segment.
Month-over-month, seasonally adjusted industrial production increased by 4.84% in December, following a 2.86% rise in November.
For the entire year of 2024, industrial production rose by 11.45% compared to 2023.
Additionally, another report from the statistics office indicated a slight improvement in annual retail sales growth, which reached 2.9% in December, up from a 2.1% increase the month before.
Sales of pharmaceutical and medical goods at specialized stores jumped significantly by 8.57% year-on-year, while the demand for textiles and clothing rose by 8.38%.
