SINGAPORE – Singapore's manufacturing output suffered an unexpected decline last month, weighed down by double-digit losses in the biomedical industry.
According to data released by the Economic Development Board (EDB) on January 26, total factory output in December fell 2.5% year-on-year, a reversal from November's adjusted zero growth. The original forecast for November, released last month, was 1. Percentage increase in production.
Excluding the volatile biomedical industry, factory output rose 0.5% in December.
The major electronics industry, which accounts for 45% of local manufacturing output, took the lead with a 6.3% year-on-year increase, slowing from the previous month's 7.3% increase.
In the electronics sector, the semiconductor sector expanded by 17.7%, supported by improved demand in some end markets such as smartphones. However, other electronic modules and components decreased by 7.8%, computer peripherals and data storage decreased by 17%, and the information and communications and consumer electronics sectors decreased by 18.1%.
The biomedical industry performed worst in December, with production down 23.9% year-on-year.
Within this cluster, the medical technology sector grew by 8.6% due to increased export demand for medical equipment. However, the output of the pharmaceutical sector decreased by 45% due to lower production of biological products and differences in the formulation of active pharmaceutical ingredients.
The output of the transportation engineering cluster in December increased by 0.2% compared to the same month in 2022.
The aerospace sector led with 4.9% growth due to higher demand for aircraft parts and increased maintenance, repair and overhaul jobs from commercial airlines, on the back of strong global air travel demand. Ta. However, the marine and offshore engineering sectors decreased by 1.7% and 10.8%, respectively.
In the precision engineering industry, output decreased by 7.4% year-on-year, while the machinery and systems sector contracted by 1.8%, mainly due to lower output of measuring equipment and mechanical engineering work.
The precision modules and components sector contracted by 24.7% due to lower production of plastic and metal precision components, optical instruments, molds, molds, tools, jigs and fixtures.
Production in the general manufacturing industry decreased by 15.9% compared to December 2022, weighed down by decreased production of batteries and structural metal products.
The chemical cluster was also in the red, with production decreasing by 2.8% from the previous year.
The specialty products and petroleum sectors grew by 29.1% and 1.7%, respectively, with the former recording an increase in production of mineral oil additives. The other chemicals sector decreased by 5.4% due to a decline in fragrance production, and the petrochemical sector decreased by 5.5% due to weak market demand.
