Singapore's manufacturing output up 6.2% in December

See how each segment fared.

According to a release, on a year-on-year basis, Singapore’s manufacturing output grew 6.2% in December 2013. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 12.1%.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output rose 5.2% in December 2013. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 5.0%.The electronics cluster’s output expanded 22.2% on a year-on-year basis in December 2013.

Output of the transport engineering cluster rose 13.8% year-on-year in December 2013. The marine & offshore engineering segment recorded an output growth of 19.8%, supported by contributions from rig building as well as ship building & conversion jobs.

Output of the chemicals cluster increased 6.4% year-on-year in December 2013. The specialties segment expanded 14.1% on account of higher regional demand, while petrochemicals output grew 12.7% on the back of new production capacities.

The general manufacturing cluster’s output grew 2.7% in December 2013, compared to a year ago. Higher demand for confectionery products contributed to the 6.5% gain in the food, beverages & tobacco segment.

Output of the precision engineering cluster fell 1.2% year-on-year in December 2013. The machinery & systems segment grew 5.1%, supported by higher export demand for semiconductor related equipment.

Output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster contracted 14.9% in December 2013 on a year-on-year basis. The medical technology segment grew 18.2%, but this was more than offset by the pharmaceuticals segment, which declined 21.2% due to a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients produced.