Singapore’s manufacturing output in March dropped by 3.2% YoY

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s manufacturing output in March dropped by 3.2% YoY and 16% MoM, according to the latest data from EDB Singapore, as reported by the Singapore Business Review.

If you remove the biomedical manufacturing segment, which saw a 34.3% YoY contraction, the overall manufacturing output would’ve decreased, but by a slightly lesser 5.9% YoY.

Other sectors didn’t fare so well either. Electronics took a hit, with an 11.3% YoY decline. General manufacturing also saw a decrease of 3.2% YoY. Transport engineering joined the downward trend with a 9.7% YoY fall.

However, amidst the gloomy data, there is hope. Precision Engineering and Chemicals managed to buck the trend, showing increases of 3.2% YoY and 4.2% YoY, respectively.

Also, The Straits Times reported comments from DBS Bank economist Chua Han Teng. He mentioned:

“The choppy and uneven factory performance in the first three months of 2024 suggests that the recovery will be gradual, with our expectations still for better manufacturing prospects in 2024 versus 2023’s full-year contraction.”

He also noted that the electronics cluster performance will likely be the key to the recovery of Singapore manufacturing.

/TISG

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