On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output increased 8.1% in August 2010. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 24.8%. On a three-month moving average basis, manufacturing output in August 2010 increased 15.2% compared to the same period last year. For the first eight months of 2010, manufacturing output expanded 32.5%. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output declined 6.3% in August 2010. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output rose 2.3%.

Output of the precision engineering cluster expanded 46.3% year-on-year in August 2010. The machinery & systems segment grew 74.3%, due in part to ramp-up of production in new plants and higher orders for semiconductor related equipment. The precision modules & components segment continued to record higher output in August, underpinned by healthy demand for metal precision components, metal stamping, and connectors. For the first eight months of 2010, output of the precision engineering cluster grew 42.8% compared to the corresponding period in 2009.

Output of the electronics cluster increased 32.8% in August 2010 from a year earlier. Semiconductor production remained buoyant as output rose 63.7% in August, on the back of strong demand for consumer electronic devices. The infocomms & consumer electronics segment also posted a strong gain of 30.7%. Output of the computer peripherals segment, on the other hand, fell 20.8% in comparison with August last year when production level was high due to re-stocking activities. On a year-to-date basis, electronics output was 51.4% higher than that recorded for the same period last year.

Output of the general manufacturing cluster increased 15.1% year-on-year in August 2010. The miscellaneous industries segment expanded 25.4% in August with higher production of steel and steel structural components. The food, beverages & tobacco segment grew 11.0%, while the printing segment fell 6.1%, due to lower volume recorded in the printing of books, periodicals and reproduction of recorded media. Cumulative output of the cluster in the first eight months of 2010 rose 14.9% compared to the same period last year.

The chemicals cluster’s output grew 11.9% year-on-year in August 2010, with all segments within the cluster registering higher output. The petrochemicals segment posted the strongest gain of 24.2%. On a year-to-date basis, output of the chemicals cluster was 14.9% higher than the same period in the previous year. 

The transport engineering cluster’s output rose 4.6% in August 2010 on a year-on-year basis. The aerospace segment grew 11.5%, on the back of increased repair and maintenance jobs for aircrafts relative to August last year. The marine & offshore engineering segment saw a moderation in decline as output dipped 2.8% in August. Cumulatively, output of the cluster contracted 8.5% from January to August of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.

The biomedical manufacturing cluster’s output declined 29.0% in August 2010 on a year-on-year basis. This was mainly due to the pharmaceuticals segment which fell 30.8% as a result of a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients produced.  On a year-to-date basis, the biomedical output grew 42.4%.

The next monthly manufacturing performance media release will be issued on 26th October 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)