Chart of the Day: Biomed output sinks 22.2%

It dragged overall Singapore production.

The biomedical sector shrank 22.2% in May, pulling the overall manufacturing output in Singapore to register only a 5% growth.

The decline in the sector came as the medical technology segment expanded 19.1% with higher export demand for medical devices, while the pharmaceuticals segment fell 32.6% with lower production of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Cumulatively, the output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster decreased 13.9% from January to May, compared to the same period a year ago.

Meanwhile, the transport engineering cluster and the general manufacturing industries also reported contractions at 12.8% and 9%, respectively.

The output of the miscellaneous industries segment fell 6.7%, on account of the lower production of fibreglass products and construction-related materials. The food, beverages & tobacco and printing segments contracted 9.8% and 12.9% respectively. On a year-to-date basis, the output of the general manufacturing industries cluster fell 7.9%.

The land transport and aerospace segments registered output growth of 16.4% and 2.2% respectively. By contrast, the marine & offshore engineering segment declined 28.0%, as rig-building activities and demand for oilfield & gas field equipment remained weak. Additionally, the segment recorded lower levels of shipbuilding and repair activities. The transport engineering cluster decreased 11.8% in the first five months of 2017, compared to the same period last year.