Highlights

• On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Singapore manufacturing output declined by 6.7% in October 2009. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 1.4% in October over September 2009.



• On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output increased 3.6% in October 2009. Output increased 4.3% if biomedical manufacturing was excluded.

(I) Total Manufacturing Performance
1.  Manufacturing output declined by 6.7% in October 2009 on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 1.4%. On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output increased 3.6% in October 2009. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 4.3%. On a three-month moving average basis, total manufacturing output in October 2009 increased 3.0% compared to the corresponding period last year. Cumulative output in the first ten months of 2009 contracted by 5.1% compared to the same period in 2008.

(II) Performance by cluster
2.  On a year-on-year basis, the electronics cluster output expanded 17.7% in October. The computer peripherals segment continued to perform strongly in October, as it grew 83.0%, building on its strong performance in September. The semiconductor segment grew 15.7% in October with stronger demand for chips used in consumer electronics. The data storage and infocomms & consumer electronics segments, however, saw a year-on-year declines of 15.2% and 18.6% respectively. On a year-to-date basis, the electronics cluster contracted 15.2% compared to the same period in 2008.

3.  Output in the biomedical manufacturing cluster grew 0.8% year-on-year in October 2009. The growth was mainly due to the medical technology segment which saw output increase by 14.5% in October. On the other hand, output of the pharmaceuticals segment fell by a marginal 0.7%. Cumulative output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster from January to October 2009 increased 21.8% compared to the same period in 2008.  

4.  The output of the general manufacturing industries edged up 0.3% year-on-year in October 2009. The miscellaneous segment climbed 4.3% while the food, beverages & tobacco and printing segments fell by 2.1% and 5.9% respectively. Cumulative output in the first ten months of 2009 fell 6.0% compared to the same period in 2008. 

5.  The output of the precision engineering cluster saw a moderation in decline, as it contracted 2.1% in October year-on-year. The machinery & systems segment grew 0.6% in October and the precision modules & components segment contracted 4.2%. The cluster’s output from January to October 2009 was 19.2% lower than the output level for the same period last year. 

6.  Output for the chemicals cluster declined 2.2% year-on-year in October 2009. All segments within the cluster recorded positive growth, except for the petroleum segment which registered a decline of 17.0%. The petrochemicals and the specialties segments rose 11.0% and 6.4% respectively in October. The increase was partly due to the low base last year as some major plants shut down for maintenance. Cumulative output of the chemicals cluster from January to October 2009 contracted 13.8% compared to the same period in 2008.  

7.  The output of the transport engineering cluster fell 13.6% in October 2009 compared with the same month last year. The marine & offshore engineering segment contracted 15.5% in October. There were fewer stages of completion at the shipyards on existing contracts and fewer repair jobs in October. Repair and servicing job orders from commercial airlines remained weak, as the aerospace segment contracted 13.6%. Cumulative output of the transport engineering cluster fell 2.8% in the first ten months of the year compared to the same period in 2008.

8.  The next monthly manufacturing performance media release will be issued on 24th December 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)