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Monthly Manufacturing Performance - November 2004 |
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27 Dec 2004
Manufacturing output increased 13.2% in November
(I) Total Manufacturing Performance
Total manufacturing output increased 13.2% in November compared to last November with strong growth in the biomedical manufacturing, transport engineering and chemicals clusters. Excluding the biomedical manufacturing cluster, November's output grew 7.3%. The three-month moving average for total manufacturing output grew 9.0%. However, the seasonally adjusted month-on-month index declined by 3.8%. The cumulative total manufacturing output for the first eleven months this year increased by 13.0% compared to the same period in 2003.
(II) Performance by cluster
The biomedical manufacturing cluster grew by 58.1% year-on-year in November. The growth was contributed by the pharmaceuticals segment which grew 76.4% with more fine chemicals produced for orders from the US and Europe. Output of the medical technology segment was similar to the level in November last year. Cumulatively, output of the cluster grew by 12.8% in the first eleven months this year.
The transport engineering cluster grew by 31.9% in November, leading to a cumulative growth of 22.8% for the first eleven months of 2004. Output of the marine & offshore engineering segment increased 32.3% with shipyards completing more ship repairs and conversion and building of ships that were scheduled for delivery next year. Output of the aerospace segment increased 34.6% in November 2004 over the same period last year. The increase in air travel, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, rendered more demand for aircraft maintenance and repairs.
The electronics cluster grew by 3.1% year-on-year in November. The high growth of 63.0% in the infocomms & consumer electronics segment was offset somewhat by contractions in the other segments. Vigorous export demand boosted the higher levels of production of hand phones and computers. However, production of consumer electronics slowed with fewer orders for digital audio-video products. The production of semiconductors fell 0.8% as chip makers were concerned about slower global demand and high inventories. Despite the November contraction, cumulative output of semiconductors for the first eleven months of 2004 posted a 29.0% growth over the same period in 2003. The data storage and the computer peripherals segments contracted 19.9% and 9.0% respectively with the lower production of disk drives, printers and related products. The electronics modules and components segment shrank by 16.5% due to less output of capacitors and other electronic components. Cumulatively, the electronics cluster grew by 18.7% in the first eleven months of 2004 compared to the same period in 2003.
The chemicals cluster grew by 15.7% in November with all segments registering higher output year-on-year. The output of petroleum products rose by 32.6% due partly to attractive processing margins stimulating high production and partly to lower output in November 2003 when there was a fire and shutdown in one of the distillation units. The output of petrochemicals increased 11.6% as petrochemical plants which had maintenance shutdowns in October returned to normal levels of operation. Good demand also boosted the higher production. The chemicals cluster grew 7.7% in the first eleven months this year.
Output of the precision engineering cluster in November showed a marginal increase over November last year. The machinery & systems segment grew by 0.3% while the precision modules & components segment expanded 0.5%. Cumulatively, output of the cluster grew by 8.2% in the first eleven months of 2004.
Output from the general manufacturing industries contracted 0.4% due to a 1.8% dip in output of the printing industry. In contrast, production of the food, beverage & tobacco industries grew by 7.0%. Cumulative output for the first eleven months this year for this group of industries contracted 0.1%.
The Monthly Index is available from the Research & Statistics Unit of the Economic Development Board. For further information, please contact Miss Kok Yit Hoe by tel - 6832 6741 / fax - 68326493 / email yithoe@edb.gov.sg
Editors' Note: Updates on Monthly Manufacturing Output are available on
http://www.sprinter.gov.sg and http://www.sedb.com
For media enquiries, please contact Ms Valerie Tay
(Tel: 6832-6789/ Handphone: 96852434 / Email:valeriet@edb.gov.sg)
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