On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output increased 9.9% in July 2010. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 20.2%. On a three-month moving average basis, manufacturing output in July 2010 increased 31.3% compared to the same period last year. For the first seven months of 2010, manufacturing output expanded 36.6%. Manufacturing output increased 1.4% in July 2010 on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output remained unchanged.

Output of the precision engineering cluster expanded 50.9% year-on-year in July 2010. The strong performance was boosted by the machinery & systems segment which saw output surging by  94.2% in July, on the back of higher export orders for semiconductor related equipment as well as the ramp-up of production in new plants. The precision modules & components segment also recorded an output gain of 16.0% due to robust demand for metal precision components and connectors. For the first seven months of 2010, output of the precision engineering cluster grew 42.6% compared to the corresponding period in 2009.

Output of the electronics cluster increased 24.5% in July 2010 on a year-on-year basis. Healthy electronics demand continued to drive semiconductors production, as the segment grew 58.7% in July. On the other hand, the other electronic modules & components segment and computer peripherals segment declined 10.2% and 33.7% respectively. On a year-to-date basis, electronics output was 55.0% higher than that recorded for the same period last year. 

Output of the general manufacturing cluster increased 13.3% year-on-year in July 2010. The miscellaneous industries segment expanded 21.5% in July with higher production of batteries & accumulators and advertising displays.  Output of the food, beverages & tobacco segment was 7.1% higher in July, while output of the printing segment inched down 0.5%. Cumulative output of the cluster in the first seven months of 2010 rose 14.6% compared to the same period last year.

The chemicals cluster’s output grew 7.7% year-on-year in July 2010. Within the cluster, output of the petroleum segment registered a gain of 3.5% in throughput on the back of improved refining margin. The petrochemicals, specialties and other chemicals segments also recorded gains of 12.5%, 9.6% and 0.6% respectively. On a year-to-date basis, output of the chemicals cluster was 15.4% higher than the same period in the previous year. 

The transport engineering cluster’s output rose 0.8% in July 2010 on a year-on-year basis, as gains in the land transport and aerospace segments more than offset the decline in the marine and offshore segment. Growth was strongest in the land transport segment, which expanded 24.6% in July with higher production of automotive parts. The aerospace segment also saw an increase in the number of repair and maintenance jobs for aircrafts, as output grew 11.9%. Cumulatively, output of the cluster contracted 10.2% from January to July of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.

The biomedical manufacturing cluster’s output declined 11.2% in July 2010 on a year-on-year basis. The pharmaceuticals segment decline 10.8%, primarily due to a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients produced. On a year-to-date basis, the biomedical output grew 54.7%.

The next monthly manufacturing performance media release will be issued on 24th September 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)