Highlights

• On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Singapore’s manufacturing output declined by 3.6% in November 2009. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 2.4% in November over October 2009.

• On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output decreased 8.2% in November 2009. Output increased 7.4% if biomedical manufacturing was excluded.

(I) Total Manufacturing Performance
1.  Manufacturing output declined by 3.6% in November 2009 on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 2.4%. On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output decreased 8.2% in November 2009. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 7.4%. On a three-month moving average basis, total manufacturing output in November 2009 decreased 3.9% compared to the corresponding period last year. Cumulative output in the first eleven months of 2009 contracted by 5.5% compared to the same period in 2008.

(II) Performance by cluster
2.  The electronics cluster output recorded an increase of 17.5% in November year-on-year. The cluster’s growth was driven primarily by the semiconductors segment which jumped 34.2% due in part to the low base last year as a result of the sharp drop in demand immediately following the onset of the financial crisis last year. The other electronic modules & components and infocomms & consumer electronics segments also grew 1.8% and 0.1% respectively. On the other hand, the computer peripherals segment declined by a marginal 0.3% in November after performing strongly in the past few months. On a year-to-date basis, the electronics cluster contracted 12.6% compared to the same period in 2008.

3.  Output for the chemicals cluster in November rose 16.5%. Most of the cluster registered strong positive growth in November on a year-on-year basis, with the exception of the petroleum segment. The strong growth was attributed to the low base in November last year when producers rushed to cut production as demand fell on the back of the financial crisis. The petrochemicals and specialties segments rose 50.9% and 34.5% respectively in November, while the other chemical products segment grew 25.0%. The petroleum segment contracted 12.1% due to weak refining margins. Cumulative output of the chemicals cluster from January to November 2009 contracted 11.5% compared to the same period in 2008.  

4.  Output of the precision engineering cluster expanded 5.8% year-on-year in November 2009. The precision modules & components segment grew 8.9% in November due in part to the low base last year. The machinery & systems segment rose 2.4% on the back of higher machinery orders from overseas. The cluster’s output from January to November 2009 was 17.3% lower than the output level for the same period last year. 

5.  The output of the general manufacturing industries increased by 4.7% year-on-year in November 2009. The miscellaneous segment increased 13.8%, partly due to spillover effect from construction activities. The printing and food, beverages & tobacco segments fell by 2.8% and 6.1% respectively. Cumulative output in the first eleven months of 2009 fell 4.7% compared to the corresponding period in 2008. 

6.  The transport engineering cluster output fell 19.8% in November 2009 compared with the same month last year. The aerospace segment declined 16.7% as the sluggish aviation industry continued to put a drag on orders for repair and maintenance. On a similar note, the marine and offshore engineering segment contracted 25.0% with low level of activities at the shipyards and the smaller scope of repair jobs available. Cumulative output of the transport engineering cluster fell 4.6% from January to November 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.

7.  Output in the biomedical manufacturing cluster contracted 48.8% year-on-year in November 2009. The medical technology segment increased 12.2% in November but the cluster was pulled down by the pharmaceuticals segment, which declined 52.5%. The low production was due to a different product-mix and some maintenance shutdowns. Cumulative output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster from January to November 2009 increased 13.9% compared to the same period in 2008.  

8.  The next monthly manufacturing performance media release will be issued on 26th January 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: 91484194 / Email quin_chong@edb.gov.sg)