Highlights

• On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Singapore manufacturing output decreased by 9.2% in June 2009. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 0.6% in June over May 2009.
• On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output decreased 9.3% in June 2009. Output decreased 14.6% if biomedical manufacturing was excluded.

(I) Total Manufacturing Performance 
1. Manufacturing output contracted by 9.2% in June 2009 on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 0.6%. On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output declined 9.3% in June 2009. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output contracted 14.6%. On a three-month moving average basis, total manufacturing output in June 2009 fell 2.4% compared to the corresponding period last year. Cumulative output in the first six months of 2009 contracted 14.0% compared to the same period in 2008.

(II) Performance by cluster
2.  The output in the biomedical manufacturing cluster expanded 11.6% year-on-year in June 2009. The pharmaceuticals segment recorded an increase of 14.0% in June with higher level of production of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The medical technology segment declined 9.4% due to lower overseas orders. For the first six months of the year, cumulative output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster rose by 5.5% compared to the same period in 2008.  

3.  Output for the general manufacturing industries contracted by 1.5% year-on-year in June 2009. The output of the miscellaneous industries expanded 8.4% in June, underpinned by increased construction related activities. Demand for products in the printing segment remained weak, with output falling 20.7% in June.  Cumulative output in the first six months of 2009 shrank 8.0% compared to the same period in 2008. 

4.  Output of the chemicals cluster declined by 8.9% year-on-year in June 2009. The petroleum and petrochemicals segments contracted 12.8% and 9.6% respectively. Refining margins remained weak on the back of the current economic downturn and there were maintenance shutdowns in some petrochemical plants during the month. Overall, output of the chemicals cluster contracted 18.9% on a year-to-date basis.

5.  The output of the transport engineering cluster contracted 12.4% in June 2009 compared with the same month last year. The aerospace segment fell 3.2% with fewer repair orders from commercial airlines. The marine & offshore engineering segment also declined 17.5% as a result of lower level of activities in the shipyards compared to a year ago. Cumulative output of the cluster rose 1.9% for the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2008.

6.  The output of the precision engineering cluster shrank 18.1% in June 2009 compared to a year ago. The precision modules & components’ output contracted 16.7% in June year-on-year. On a similar note, the machinery & systems segment shrank 19.5% in June. However, there were increased orders for equipment as compared to the previous month. Cumulatively, the cluster’s output recorded a 25.3% decline from January to June 2009 compared to the same period last year. 

7.  The electronics cluster’s output declined 20.4% year-on-year in June 2009 due to continued weakness in global demand for electronics products. The semiconductors and data storage segments contracted 16.4% and 12.7% respectively in the month of June. Meanwhile, computer peripherals, infocomms & consumer electronics segments and other electronic modules & components declined 20.8%, 49.6% and 25.4% respectively in June. For the first six months of 2009, the output of the electronics cluster contracted 30.3% compared to the same period in 2008. 

8.  The next monthly manufacturing performance media release will be issued on 26th August 2009.

Editors’ Note: Updates on Monthly Manufacturing Output are available on
http://www.news.gov.sg and http://www.sedb.com

For media enquiries, please contact 
Mr Alex Tan 
(Tel: 68326284 /  Handphone: 98410392 /  Email: alex_tan@edb.gov.sg)

For further information, please contact 
Ms Cheng Wai San 
(Tel: 68326708 / Handphone: 98418709 / Email waisan@edb.gov.sg)