SINGAPORE: Singapore’s manufacturing output rose 17.9 per cent year-on-year in November, boosted by biomedical manufacturing and electronics.
Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 14 per cent, the Economic Development Board (EDB) said on Thursday (Dec 24).
The rebound in November follows a revised year-on-year decline of 0.8 per cent in October, which was hurt by a plunge in transport engineering.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output increased 7.2 per cent in November. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 6 per cent.
“Both electronics and biomedical clusters are expected to perform strongly in the coming months, on the back of robust electronics demand and Singapore’s position in producing and supplying biomedical products and supplies during this COVID-19 pandemic,” said UOB senior economist Alvin Liew.
BIOMEDICAL BOOST
Biomedical manufacturing output grew 40.6 per cent in November compared to the same period last year, largely due to a 50.8 per cent expansion in the pharmaceuticals segment.
The medical technology segment also grew 22.7 per cent with higher export demand for medical devices.
In the electronics cluster, production increased 34.9 per cent in November from the previous year, with all segments recording output growth except infocommunications and consumer electronics.
In particular, the semiconductor segment grew 40.9 per cent, supported by demand from 5G markets and a low production base from a year ago.
The chemicals output sector grew 10.1 per cent year-on-year, boosted by a 25.1 per cent increase in the petrochemicals segment which expanded from a low base last year due to plant maintenance shutdowns.
The specialties segment increased 8.9 per cent with higher production of industrial gases and mineral oil additives.
The other chemicals and petroleum segments contracted 2 per cent and 31.7 per cent respectively, as demand remained weak amid the COVID-19 situation.
Output also grew for precision engineering with a 7.3 per cent increase compared to a year ago. The machinery and systems segment grew 9.4 per cent with higher output of semiconductor equipment. The precision modules and components segment rose 2.8 per cent due to higher production of optical instrument and metal precision components.
UNDERPERFORMING CLUSTERS
Among the clusters that contracted, output in transport engineering declined the most by 29.5 per cent year-on-year in November.
The land segment grew 31.8 per cent with higher output of parts and accessories for motor vehicles, but this was offset by declines in the marine and offshore engineering and aerospace segments.
The levels of activity in the aerospace firms and shipyards remained low as new orders were adversely impacted by travel restrictions and weak global oil & gas market, said EDB.
Output also declined in the general manufacturing cluster, with a 13.3 per cent decline year-on-year with all segments recording output declines.
The food, beverage and tobacco segment fell 14 per cent on account of lower production of beverage products and milk powder.
The miscellaneous industries and printing segments declined 10.7 per cent and 19.6 per cent respectively, as the former continued to see weak demand for construction-related products.
Looking ahead, UOB’s Mr Liew said that he expects the biomedical and electronics cluster to continue to lift overall manufacturing activities into next year.
At the same time, COVID-19 restrictions are likely to continue to discourage international travel into the first half of next year, he said.
“(This) in turn will weigh on tourism-related demand and inhibit any meaningful growth in the transport engineering and general manufacturing clusters in the near term,” said Mr Liew.
Source: channelnewsasia