Highlights

• On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Singapore manufacturing output increased by 23.0% in July 2009. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 7.7% in July over June 2009.



• On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output increased 12.4% in July 2009. Output contracted 7.4% if biomedical manufacturing was excluded.

Total Manufacturing Performance

1.  Manufacturing output increased by 23.0% in July 2009 on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 7.7%. On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output rose 12.4% in July 2009, boosted by a 125.4% increase in the biomedical cluster. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output declined 7.4%. On a three-month moving average basis, total manufacturing output in July 2009 increased 1.7% compared to the corresponding period last year. Cumulative output in the first seven months of 2009 contracted by 10.3% compared to the same period in 2008.

(II) Performance by cluster
2.  The output in the biomedical manufacturing cluster jumped by 125.4% year-on-year in July 2009, attributed mainly to the performance in the pharmaceuticals segment. Output for the pharmaceuticals segment soared 139.2% in July as a result of higher production of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients. The medical technology segment also grew 14.2% in July. Cumulative output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster from January to July 2009 increased by 16.5% compared to the same period in 2008.  

3.  The chemicals cluster continued to see a moderation in decline, with output falling 2.3% year-on-year in July 2009. The petrochemicals segment expanded 17.6% in July; most of the increase was due to low base last year as some petrochemical plants had scheduled maintenance shutdowns. Petroleum refineries’ throughput contracted 13.2% due to low refining margins compared to the same period a year ago. Overall, the chemicals cluster contracted 16.8% on a year-to-date basis.

4.  The electronics cluster also saw a moderation of year-on-year decline in July 2009, with output falling by 5.6%. The computer peripherals segment registered output growth of 44.5% in July while output for the remaining electronics segments continued to contract. For the first seven months of 2009, the electronics cluster contracted 26.3% compared to the same period in 2008.

5.  Output for the general manufacturing industries contracted by 4.8% year-on-year in July 2009. The food, beverages & tobacco and miscellaneous industries segments contracted by 2.8% and 1.7% respectively in July, while the printing segment declined by 13.8%. Cumulative output in the first seven months of 2009 fell 7.6% compared to the same period in 2008. 

6.  The output of the transport engineering cluster shrank 10.2% in July 2009 compared with the same month last year. The aerospace segment contracted by 6.5% in July as the sluggish global airline industry resulted in fewer maintenance and repair orders from commercial airlines. The marine & offshore engineering and land transport segments declined by 9.8% and 31.5% respectively. Cumulative output of the cluster grew by 0.4% in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period in 2008.

7.  The output of the precision engineering cluster shrank 16.6% in July 2009 compared to the same period a year ago. The machinery & systems segment contracted 15.5% as overseas machinery orders remained weak. Output for the precision modules & components segment shrank 17.4% in July. The cluster’s output from January to July 2009 was 23.9% lower than the output level in the same period last year.

8.  The next monthly manufacturing performance media release will be issued on 25th September 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 
Mr Chong Tse Ming 
(Tel 68326677 / Handphone: 91484194 / Email quin_chong@edb.gov.sg)