Singapore factory output snaps year-long slump with 7.4% rise in October

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s factory production posted its first year-on-year growth in October after 12 straight months of decline, led by the key electronics industry – in particular, semiconductors.

Total manufacturing output rose 7.4 per cent year on year, after an upwardly revised 1.1 per cent drop in September, according to data released by the Economic Development Board on Nov 24.

Excluding volatile biomedical manufacturing, October output increased 7.3 per cent.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, production expanded 9.8 per cent in October over September. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, it grew 4.4 per cent.

The turnaround was led by the electronics industry, which accounts for about 45 per cent of local manufacturing production.

Electronics production rose 14.8 per cent year on year, with the semiconductor segment expanding 17.8 per cent. This was the second straight month of expansion for electronics and chip production.

However, other electronics modules and components declined by 2.4 per cent, while computer peripherals and data storage shrank by 10.3 per cent.

Also helping to lift the manufacturing sector was the transport engineering industry, whose output rose 12 per cent.

The industry was boosted by a 20.2 per cent jump in marine and offshore engineering amid higher levels of activity in shipyards alongside increased output in oil and gas-field equipment. The aerospace segment grew 15.9 per cent with higher demand for aircraft parts and more maintenance, repair and overhaul jobs from commercial airlines amid strong air travel demand globally.

The biomedical industry saw output grow 5.1 per cent. The medical technology segment expanded 8.2 per cent with higher export demand for medical devices, while pharmaceuticals increased 3.3 per cent on account of a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients being produced compared with a year ago.

On the flip side, chemicals posted a 1 per cent decline, largely due to the petrochemicals segment which shrank 9.9 per cent, partly due to shutdowns for plant maintenance.

Also reporting a fall in output was the precision engineering sector, as output slipped 2.2 per cent year on year. It was led lower by the precision modules and components segment falling by a sharp 20.5 per cent, even though machinery and systems production rose by 3.3 per cent on healthier demand semiconductor-related equipment.

General manufacturing output rose 4.3 per cent, with the food, beverages and tobacco segment up 6.7 per cent while the miscellaneous industries segment rose 4.8 per cent with higher production of construction-related materials. However, the printing segment fell 9.9 per cent.