Manufacturing output falls 9.5% in April

Blame it on the biomedical manufacturing cluster which saw a 22.6% year-on-year decline. Under this cluster the pharmaceuticals segment declined 23.6% as a result of a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients being produced.

As for other clusters, output of the precision engineering cluster expanded 28.5% year-on-year in April 2011. The machinery & systems' output rose 64.9%, supported by robust demand for semiconductor related equipment, process control equipment as well as higher volume of engineering works in the chemicals sector. The precision modules & components segment, on the other hand, shrank 6.4% due to lower production of connectors, metal precision components and plastic engineering parts. On a year-to-date basis, output of the precision engineering cluster was 29.1% higher than the same period a year ago.

The transport engineering cluster's output grew 6.3% year-on-year in April 2011, with all segments posting higher output. The aerospace segment increased 9.9% with higher volume of aircraft repair and maintenance jobs from commercial airlines. The land transport segment also recorded a gain of 6.5% as a result of higher production of automotive parts and accessories, while the marine and offshore engineering segment grew 2.4% with higher output from oil & gas field equipment and ship conversion projects. Cumulatively, output of the cluster grew 5.9% in the first four months of 2011, compared to the same period last year.

The chemicals cluster's output declined 5.3% year-on-year in April 2011. However, the specialties and other chemicals segments recorded output gains of 8.2% and 3.4% respectively. The petrochemicals and petroleum segments registered lower output in April 2011 due to maintenance shutdowns in some plants. Cumulatively, output of the chemicals cluster grew 9.6% from January to April 2011 compared to the same period a year ago.

Output of the electronics cluster declined 8.0% in April 2011 from the same period in 2010. Output increases in the infocomms & consumer electronics (46.3%) and computer peripherals (33.5%) segments were offset by contraction in the semiconductors (-14.6%) and data storage (-19.1%) segments. The decline in the semiconductors segment was due to a slowdown in export demand while the data storage segment was affected by the relocation of production overseas as previously announced. On a year-to-date basis, electronics output expanded 6.5% compared to the same period a year ago.

The general manufacturing cluster's output declined 8.3% year-on-year in April 2011. The decline was largely due to the printing and miscellaneous segments, which saw output fall 6.5% and 14.1% respectively. Cumulative output of the cluster in the first four months of 2011 declined 0.6%, compared to the same period last year.