⬛ Chao Ting-yu In the past two years, global events like the Ukraine-Russian war have led to raw material shortages and further disrupted the already-fragile global supply chain. This backdrop has cemented the determination of suppliers in the traditional industries based in southern Taiwan to embrace digital transformation trends. For instance, fastener suppliers based in Kangshan, Kaohsiung...

1. Foxconn MIH Alliance Sees Over Hundreds of Japanese Suppliers Join Foxconn's foray into the electric vehicle industry is seeing big gains, as The Nikkei reported that notable Japanese brands like Toyota, and auto part supplier Denso, which has invested in TSMC's Kumamoto factory project, are all slated to join Foxconn's MIH Alliance initiative. Other benchmark Japanese suppliers, such as Ho...

The new year was ushered in over the weekend; despite new beginnings, trends in 2021 that included shortages and rising prices will continue into 2022, exacerbated by backlogged shipping ports and worsening COVID-19 situations in major manufacturing hubs. Chip Shortages Since the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up in 2020, semiconductor shortages persisted as supply failed to keep up with consumer...

Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) announced that as of Thursday evening, the operating reserve of electricity was reported to be at only 4.32%, with the state power supplier's status index showing an orange light indicating a stressed capacity in the afternoon. The news comes amid heightened awareness regarding energy supply as countries around the world battle with impending power shortages or pow...

Amid the Delta variant-fueled outbreaks going around the world, event organizers, exhibitors, and marketers hoping for the return of in-person events in the fourth quarter should be According to a SearchEngineLand article, their survey of marketing professionals this summer indicated a 50% chance on average that they would attend an in-person event through the end of 2021. Their latest Eve...

The Ministry of Finance announced well-performing figures regarding Taiwan's export numbers for July on Monday, reaching US$37.95 billion, setting a new monthly high in the past year as an annual increase of 34.7%, and marked a positive growth for 13 consecutive months. The export value of the four major categories of goods, including electronic components, information communication and audio...

The National Development Council's business climate monitor signaled a fifth consecutive red light in June, with its index just one point less than in May, an optimistic outlook of Taiwan's economic situation. Council director Wu Ming-hui said the current domestic economy is continuing to warm up. Despite the localized COVID-19 outbreak throughout May and June, the manufacturing industry was n...

With Taiwan entering the summer, the state-owned power company Taipower expects to see electricity consumption rise significantly, raising concerns regarding power supply as a unit in a power plant is scheduled to shut down. The No.1 unit of New Taipei-based Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant is slated to be shut down half a year earlier than scheduled, highlighting concerns over a possible power ou...

The 11th Taiwan-U.S. TIFA will resume talks on June 30 after a four-year hiatus, according to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). The statement issued on Friday indicated that the meeting will be held via digital video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement comes after a steady improvement of Taiwan-U.S. relations. Talks will revolve around trade and other methods of imp...

Taiwan's economic fundamentals remained strong in April, according to the National Development Council's (NDC) index gauging the economic climate, which flashed a "red light" for the third consecutive month. The index's monitoring indicators reflect the existing economic situation. It moved up a point to 41 in April, reported the government's top economic planning agency on Thursday. It would...