Leading think tank Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) issued its monthly manufacturing composite indicators for July this week, signaling a decline through its index gauging the sector's climate, though it showed a continued rapid growth phase. TIER's composite manufacturing index declined 1.16 points to 16.52 in July, a small decline from June's score of 17.68. The index remained i...

An unprecedented situation is brewing in the shipping sector after over a year of supply chain issues. With port congestion, container shortages, and backed-up sea shipping, more and more companies are choosing to charter containerships long-term to bypass the logistics hurdles. The news comes after reports of TSMC chartering its own containership to ensure timely delivery of semiconductor ch...

Southeast Asian-based priority electronic component plants continue to experience a squeeze as the Delta variant-fueled COVID-19 outbreak continues to ravage the region, prompting industry experts to warn of further shortages ahead. Top MLCC supplier Murata Mfg.'s inductor plant in Dong Nai, Vietnam, is slated to reopen for operations next Monday amid the worse COVID-19 outbreak in the country...

The ocean freight shipping season is entering its peak in Q3 as European and American businesses have ramped up orders to replenish inventory. However, the Delta variant-fueled COVID-19 outbreak in many parts of the world is set to exacerbate shipping congestion as major ports in China were temporarily closed. Recent news of a port worker testing positive in the Meishan terminal in China's Por...

Taiwan's machinery exports between January and July continued to show an upward growth trajectory, reaching USD$18.556 billion, a 28.1% year-on-year growth, reported the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI). That would be $522.562 billion in Taiwan dollars, a 20.4% annual growth, marking a record high in the same period. Machinery exports have maintained double-digit growth for seven c...

State-owned China Steel Corporation passed an internal solution on Thursday to adjust steel sales for domestic and outbound markets to help Taiwan's machine tool industries maintain a consistent supply of raw materials. Machine tools and the machinery industry were impacted by steel suppliers stocking up, causing price increases or even suppliers refusing to sell—meetings between the Industria...

Global shipping shortages, capacity shortages, and port congestion issues are expected to continue until the second half of this year. Industries including machine tools, auto parts, and garments impacted by port congestion have reported full production capacity yet unable to ship at all due to the shipping shortages. Auto parts supplier Tong Yang Group (TYG) reported that their storage has be...

In a report released on Thursday, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI) announced the export value of machinery and equipment in the first half of the year was valued at US$15.758 billion (TWD$444.508 billion), an annual increase of 27.1% in USD, and 19.5% in Taiwan dollars, both marking a record high for the same period in history. Exports of machinery and equipment have experience...

The resumed Taiwan-US TIFA talks have been invigorating domestic industries. Under this backdrop, Wong Chao-tung, chairman of the Taiwan Iron and Steel Association and China Steel Corporation (CSC), said with the steel industry as a part of the restructuring of the global supply chain, and with the U.S. promoting green energy infrastructure, Wong sees potential cooperation. Among the products ...

With machine tool market conditions recovering, coupled with strong market demand in China and Europe, the delivery time of linear slides and other transmission components have been extended, and orders for pneumatic components have outpaced supply-demand, according to media reports on Friday. Companies benefiting from this latest boom include Hiwin Group, AirTAC-KY, TBI Motion, and Chieftek P...