Taiwan's industrial production index in February this year fell by 11.45 percent as compared to February 2012 after rising by a revised 19 percent year on year in January, and was down 19.9 percent month on month, according to the country's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). However, the country's seasonally adjusted industrial production index in February remained almost stable compared to January, with only a slight decrease of 0.4 percent, and was down six percent compared to the same month of 2012.
In the first two months of the year, Taiwan's seasonally adjusted industrial production index increased 3.65 percent compared to the first two months of the previous year.
In February this year, industrial output in basic metal manufacturing decreased by 8.4 percent and output of metal product manufacturing declined by 19.5 percent, both compared with February 2012. In addition, the two sectors saw 12.4 percent and 28.7 percent decreases respectively on month-on-month basis. In the first two months of 2013, a 4.6 percent year-on-year increase was recorded in basic metal manufacturing output, while the fabricated metal production index rose 5.2 percent compared to January-February 2012.
Meanwhile, in February production in Taiwan's machinery and equipment industry fell by 24.8 percent, output in the automotive industry decreased by 31.5 percent, while production in the Taiwanese construction sector increased by 42.15 percent, all compared to the same month of 2012.