On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output increased 26.2% in September 2010. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 20.4%. On a three-month moving average basis, manufacturing output in September 2010 increased 14.3% compared to the same period last year. For the first nine months of 2010, manufacturing output expanded 31.9%. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output increased 5.1% in September 2010. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output declined 2.1%.

Output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster increased 47.5% year-on-year in September 2010 after posting output declines in the past two months. The strong performance was attributed to the pharmaceuticals segment which grew 53.8% on the back of higher production of active pharmaceutical ingredients. On a year-to-date basis, the biomedical output grew 42.9%.

Output of the precision engineering cluster expanded 42.9% year-on-year in September 2010. The machinery & systems segment continued to perform strongly – growing 77.4% in September, largely due to production from new plants and the robust export demand for semiconductor related equipment. The precision modules & components segment also grew 10.9% in September with higher production of precision metal components, metal stampings and electronic connectors. In the first nine months of 2010, output of the precision engineering cluster was 42.5% higher than the same period a year ago.

Output of the electronics cluster increased 28.0% in September 2010 from a year earlier. Within the cluster, the semiconductor segment registered a strong gain of 67.9%, on the back of strong demand for consumer electronics devices such as smart phones and media tablets. Output of the infocommunications & consumer electronics segment grew 58.8% with higher production of network peripherals. The computer peripherals segment, on the other hand, fell 37.5%, due in part to the high production base in September last year when production level was boosted by re-stocking activities. On a year-to-date basis, electronics output expanded 48.1%.

The chemicals cluster's output grew 8.8% year-on-year in September 2010. Output of the petrochemicals segment was 19.5% higher in September due to fewer plant maintenance shutdowns compared to the same period last year. However, the petroleum segments saw throughput decline by 2.3%. On a year-to-date basis, output of the chemicals cluster was 14.1% higher than in the same period the previous year.

Output of the general manufacturing cluster increased 6.3% year-on-year in September 2010. The food, beverages & tobacco segment grew 6.7%, while the printing segment declined 0.5%. Cumulative output of the cluster in the first nine months of 2010 rose 13.8% compared to the same period last year.

The transport engineering cluster's output rose 1.4% in September 2010 on a year-on-year basis. Within the cluster, the land transport segment posted the largest gain of 27.6% due to higher exports of automotive parts and accessories. The aerospace segment also grew 8.4% with improved demand for air travel and air freight. In contrast, the marine & offshore engineering segment declined 7.8% on the back of fewer ship conversion and repair jobs. Cumulatively, output of the cluster contracted 7.3% from January to September of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.

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