Taiwan's Mold and Die Production Up 8.5% in Q3, 2012
2013/02/08 | By Steve ChuangTaiwan's economy may be growing at a sluggish pace, but the island's production of molds and dies in the third quarter of 2012 expanded at a brisk pace of 17.7% from the previous quarter and 8.5% from a year earlier, achieving an output value of NT$13.3 billion for the quarter, according to the latest report by the domestic Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC).
Domestic market demand for molds and dies reached NT$10.2 billion in the third quarter, up 28.5% from the previous quarter and 10.25% from a year earlier. Imports for the period soared 32.5%, to NT$1.6 billion, and exports rose 11.4% over the third quarter of 2011 to NT$4.7 billion. This was, however, a decline of 2.1% from the second quarter of 2012.
Steady Growth
An MIRDC researcher pointed out that the mold and die industry's output increased steadily during the first three quarters of 2012, and that growth was expected to continue in the fourth quarter, thanks to the efforts of manufacturers to boost overseas sales and sharpen their competitive edge.
One of the leaders in the line, Ta Yih Industrial Co., suffered a downturn in the third quarter but was hoping for an upturn in the final quarter because of strong export shipments, according to the researcher.
Despite the island's lagging new-car market, with sales declining to an estimated 350,000 units in 2012, Ta Yih (which makes products related to auto lamps) delivered a constant stream of shipments to Japan, North America, and China since the beginning of the fourth quarter. Its capacity utilization was up to more than 85%, compared with less than 80% in the previous quarter.
The research noted that Japan's Koito Manufacturing Co., an automotive lighting specialist and one of Ta Yih's biggest shareholders, recently farmed out its molding business to the Taiwanese manufacturer, assuring its strong growth momentum for 2013.
Ta Yih has recently exported its molds not only to Koito's home plants, but also to its subsidiaries in China, Thailand, Indonesia, South Africa, and the U.S. The Taiwanese company expects its mold shipments to increase steadily throughout 2013.
Some companies in the line are looking for growth momentum by polishing their competitive edge. One of these is Depo Auto Parts Ind. Co., which is setting up an industrial park for automotive molds in cooperation with the Taiwan Mold & Die Industry Association (TMDIA).
TMDIA initiated the plan to develop the industrial park because of the limitation of resources that hampers small and medium-sized Taiwanese mold makers in vying for large contract orders from overseas on their own.
The association explains that Depo will pioneer the establishment of manufacturing facilities in the park, and will invite its associated mold suppliers to set up there. Industry-university synergies will be used to provide resources for firms operating in the park, from talent incubation and technology development to the supply of foreign workers, necessary facilities, and cloud services.
The MIRDC researcher emphasized that this plan will help the industry solve problems caused by the lack of resources, talent, and manpower, and make it better able to compete with underselling rivals from China.
Another company in the line, Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co., a maker of electronic connectors involved in molding, has been striving to develop talent on its own. According to the researcher, Cheng Uei has signed a letter of understanding with the Department of Mold & Die Engineering at National Kaohsiung University of Applied Science for the provision of a graduate program on molding and automated production technologies. The company has promised to offer subsidies to 15 students in the program.
Robust Q4 Outlook
The global economic meltdown and weak consumer demand in the advanced countries have caused a slowdown, to some extent, for Taiwan's mold and die industry; however, said the MIRDC researcher, the switch by emerging countries to the development of domestic markets and infrastructure as a means of sustaining economic growth opens a new window for the industry.
The researcher went on to note that global mold and die exports amounted to US$21.7 billion in 2011, up 20.5% from the previous year, for a compound annual growth rate of 18%. This implies that the industry has huge room for further growth.
Because of this optimistic outlook, the researcher predicted that Taiwan's mold and die industry would achieve NT$13.5 billion in output and NT$4.8 billion in exports in
the fourth quarter of 2012, and end the year as a whole with NT$51 billion in output (up 2.2%) and NT$19.5 billion in exports (an increase of 2.6%). (SC, Jan. 2013)
Output of Taiwan's Mold and Die Industry
Unit: NT$1 billion
| Period | 2011 | Q1 2012 | Q2 2012 | Q3 2012 | Q4 2012 | 2012 | |||
| Value | Value | Value | Value | QoQ Growth | YoY Growth | Value | Value | YoY Growth | |
| Output | 49.9 | 11.3 | 12.6 | 13.3 | 17.7% | 8.5% | 13.5 | 51.0 | 2.2% |
| Imports | 4.7 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 10.7% | 32.5% | 1.5 | 5.0 | 6.4% |
| Exports | 19.0 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.7 | -2.1% | 11.4% | 4.8 | 19.5 | 2.6% |
| Domestic Market Demand | 35.6 | 6.4 | 7.9 | 10.2 | 28.5% | 10.2% | 10.2 | 36.5 | 2.5% |