Singapore’s manufacturing output increased by 1.0% y-o-y in November

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s manufacturing output increased by 1.0% y-o-y in November. Most clusters’ output increased except for precision engineering and biomedical manufacturing, The Edge Singapore reports.

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, the nation’s manufacturing output recorded 1.9% y-o-y growth. Notably, on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, manufacturing output declined 7.8%, dropping further to 9.4% when excluding biomedical manufacturing.

The electronics cluster grew 7.3% y-o-y in November due to semiconductors, infocomm & consumer electronics, and other electronics modules and components. However, computer peripherals & data storage experienced a decline. Despite this monthly surge, the year-to-date (YTD) figures revealed a contraction of 3.7% for the electronics cluster.

Transport engineering also had a y-o-y increase of 7.2% in November. The marine & offshore engineering segment spearheaded this growth, benefitting from heightened activity in shipyards and increased production in oil & gas field equipment.

The aerospace segment remained stable on a y-o-y basis, while the land segment contracted by 15.3%. Cumulatively, the cluster demonstrated a robust growth of 16.5% YTD.

The general manufacturing output increased by 3.2% y-o-y. Notably, the food, beverages & tobacco segment played a pivotal role in this growth, driven by increased production of beverage products. This surge compensated for declines in the miscellaneous industries and printing segments. However, the general manufacturing industries cluster fell 4.8% on a YTD basis.

The chemicals cluster recorded a y-o-y output increase of 2.7%, fueled by expansions in other chemicals and specialities and the petroleum segments. On the other hand, the petrochemicals segment faced a downturn due to weak market demand and plant maintenance shutdowns. On a YTD basis, the chemicals cluster contracted by 7.6%.

Biomedical engineering faced a slight setback, with a 0.7% y-o-y decline. There was a 6.0% contraction in the pharmaceutical segment, partially offset by growth in the medical technology segment. Overall, the biomedical manufacturing cluster witnessed a 5.6% y-o-y contraction YTD.

Precision engineering, on the other hand, experienced a y-o-y decline of 14.1%. The precision modules & components segment contracted due to lower output in optical instruments, tools, jigs, dies, moulds, fixtures, and plastic and metal precision components.

The machinery & systems segment also declined, primarily due to reduced production of semiconductor-related equipment. YTD, the precision engineering cluster contracted by 8.3%./TISG