TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Research Institute (TRI) released its March electricity prosperity index (EPI) on Tuesday (April 23), reporting energy consumption grew by 0.07% compared to the same period last year.

TRI said that although the tech industry benefited from strong demand from AI, some traditional industries saw weakened prospects, leading to order cuts and a significant decline in production momentum, per CNA. This offset the overall growth in industrial electricity consumption, the institute added.

According to TRI statistics, the EPI for the manufacturing industry remained stable in March. In terms of industry sectors, the chemical industry experienced a decline in electricity consumption by 6.7% compared to the same period last year. The international economic slowdown and rapid expansion of the petrochemical industry in China led to sluggish demand.

Additionally, since January, China has canceled some Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) tariff preferences for goods, affecting the entire petrochemical industry chain. This led to a declining trend in the EPI for the chemical materials industry, the report said.

Regarding the semiconductor industry, TRI said that high-performance computing and AI applications remain strong, especially with rapid growth in the 3- and 5-nanometer segments. This led to a 5% year-on-year increase in electricity consumption in the semiconductor industry in March and shows the industry’s slow but steady recovery, it added.

However, TRI said that due to the uncertainties in the global economy and geopolitics, it is expected that the semiconductor and wafer foundry markets will recover at a slower pace, leading to a slowdown in overall semiconductor industry growth, per UDN.

Established in 1994, TRI is a privately funded think tank focusing on energy policy, electricity management, and renewable energy.