The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for Taiwan’s manufacturing sector rose 3.9 points last month to 55.3, the third straight month of expansion and the fastest pace since June 2024, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中經院) said yesterday. Photo: CNA“The pickup reflects a broad-based recovery in manufacturing activity, driven primarily by Taiwan’s central role in the global AI supply chain,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Supplier delivery times lengthened further, while inventories returned to growth, underscoring both rising demand and tightening supply conditions, it said. However, firms in food and textiles, basic raw materials, and machinery equipment remain more cautious, pointing to a prolonged, uneven expansion. The non-manufacturing index edged down to 54.6 last month from 55.8 a month earlier, but stayed firmly in expansion territory, CIER said.

Source: Taipei Times January 02, 2026 16:23 UTC