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SINGAPORE – Output at Singapore factories resumed expansion in October as biomedical output rebounded and all manufacturing clusters posted growth that was in part boosted by a weak base effect.
Manufacturing output rose 16.9% last month from a year ago, following a revised 2.2% drop in September, according to data released by the Economic Development Board (EDB) on Friday, November 26. .
Excluding the volatile cluster of biomedical manufacturing, production rose 9.7% in October.
Singapore’s key electronics sector saw output rise 6.5% year-on-year in October, slowing from the 7.2% growth in September. All segments recorded a higher level of production.
For the year to October, electronics production increased 17.2 percent compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the biomedical cluster saw its production increase by 56.1%, reversing a 35.9% drop in the previous month. The pharmaceuticals segment grew 93.4% from a weak production base last year, down from a contraction of 46.2% in September.
But production of medical technology fell 3% amid declining demand for medical devices in some export markets.
Overall, biomedical manufacturing output grew 5.2 percent in the first 10 months of this year.
Production of chemicals increased 15.3% in October, with all segments recording production growth.
The petrochemical segment grew 16.9% and the petroleum segment grew 15.7% compared to a year ago when production was low.
The other chemicals segment grew 11.7 percent due to higher production in fragrances, while the specialties segment grew 9.3 percent with increased production of mineral oil additives .
The chemicals group grew 10.1% year-to-date, compared to the same period a year ago.
The production of precision mechanics also rose 9.1 percent in October.
The growth of the cluster was largely attributed to the machinery and systems segment, which grew by 19.6% against the backdrop of higher semiconductor equipment production to meet the large capital investments of the global industry. semiconductors.
However, the precision modules and components segment fell 11.2 percent with lower production of optical products.
Overall, the precision engineering cluster grew 19.8% in the first 10 months of 2021.
The production of the transport engineering division increased by 35.3%. The marine and offshore engineering segment grew 77.6 percent with a higher level of work in shipbuilding and repair activities, compared to the weak base last year.
The aerospace segment grew 26.9% as demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul activities improved from a year ago, when there was widespread downtime in planes due to restrictions on international travel.
Cumulatively, the transportation engineering cluster grew 8.6% year-on-year from January to October.
General manufacturing production edged up 0.8% in October.
The miscellaneous segment grew 20.2% from the weak base last year, when demand for construction-related products was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the printing segment fell 8.2% and the food, beverage and tobacco segment contracted 10.3% due to plant closures for maintenance and the decline production of dairy products in a context of weaker export demand.
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