Manufacturing output increased by 18.1% in December 2009 on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 4.5%. On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output increased 14.4% in December 2009. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 23.9%. On a three-month moving average basis, total manufacturing output in December 2009 increased 2.2% compared to the corresponding period last year. Output for the whole of 2009 contracted 4.1% compared to the same period in 2008.

The electronics cluster output saw robust growth of 57.3% in December year-on-year, with all segments within the cluster recording positive growth. This was due to higher demand, coupled with the low base last year. Production of semiconductors and data storage products was particularly weak in December 2008 due to a sharp fall in demand arising from the financial crisis. For the whole of 2009, electronics cluster output contracted 8.6% compared to 2008.

Output of the chemicals cluster in December rose 27.7%. This was mainly driven by the specialties and petrochemicals segments, which soared 72.7% and 62.2% respectively. The strong gain was primarily due to the low base in December 2008 when production was weak amidst the financial crisis. The petroleum segment continued to be affected by weak refining margins as it contracted 10.0%. Cumulative output of the chemicals cluster from January to December 2009 contracted 8.8% compared to the same period in 2008.

Output of the precision engineering cluster expanded 14.7% year-on-year in December 2009. The precision modules & components segment grew 22.4% in December due to increased demand for metal precision components and metal stampings. The machinery & systems segment also grew 8.1% due to increased orders for machinery used in the semiconductor industry. Overall, the cluster’s output in 2009 was 15.0% lower than that in 2008. 

The output of the general manufacturing industries increased by 2.1% year-on-year in December 2009. The miscellaneous industries segment grew 7.8% due to spillover effects from construction activities. However the printing and food, beverages & tobacco segments contracted by 0.1% and 6.4% respectively. Output for the whole of 2009 fell 4.8% compared to the corresponding period in 2008.

Output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster contracted 13.3% year-on-year in December 2009. Within the cluster, output for the medical technology segment rose 22.4%, on the back of healthy demand for medical equipment. On the other hand, the pharmaceuticals segment contracted 16.3% due to different product mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Cumulative output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster from January to December 2009 increased 11.5% compared to the same period in 2008.

The transport engineering cluster output declined by 14.8% in December 2009 compared with the same month last year. The output of the land transport segment spiked up 117.3%, mainly due to a ramp up in production to meet delivery before year end. The aerospace and marine & offshore engineering segments contracted 21.1% and 21.8% respectively. For the whole of 2009, output of the transport engineering cluster fell 5.6% in 2009 compared to 2008.

The next monthly manufacturing performance media release will be issued on 26th February 2010.

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: 91547959 / Email quin_chong@edb.gov.sg)