Taiwan's electronics component output up 18% in 2004

Taipei, Jan. 28, 2005 (CENS)-Total value of electronics parts and components turned out by Taiwanese makers at home and abroad posted an annual growth of 18% reach NT$555.2 billion (US$17.4 billion at US$1: NT$31.9) in 2004, according to the government-sponsored IT IS (Industrial Technology Information Service & Promotion Project).

The research unit of the Industrial Economics & Knowledge Center (IEK)-IT IS estimated the global demand for cell phone- and consumer electronic-use components are expected to grow sharply, and predicted the excessive supplies of notebook PCs and cell phones to drive down the component prices. It also forecast Taiwan's production value of electronic parts and components to grow 11% annually to NT$619 billion (US$19.4 billion) this year.

IT IS attributed the high growth, rarely seen in recent years, partly to expanded global demand for high-level components used in notebook PCs and cell phones, and partly to increased production value of local flexible printed circuit (FPC) and integrated circuit (IC) substrates.

IT IS pointed out that in the past, the annual production statistics were based on makers' local output, which can hardly reflect the real overall scale of Taiwan's electronic-component industry. IT IS redefined the product categories of local electronic-component line to rationalize the calculation of production value, excluding some already-matured segments with well-established up- and down-stream industrial infrastructure such as IC and liquid crystal display (LCD).

The new categories included in the new production-value calculation system include chemical semiconductor devices, passive components, printed circuit boards (PCBs), connecting components, and energy components. The new system also excludes diodes, transistors, small motors and switches due to their relatively small production scales.

The production capacity of the local chemical-semiconductor device segment grew by 50% in 2004, but the unit prices of the sector dropped 25% to 40% and sales revenue rose only 23% from 2003 to NT$40.5 billion (US$1.27 billion).