Manufacturing output up 24.2% in September

The pharmaceutical cluster’s output more than doubled during the month.

Singapore’s manufacturing output beat market expectations with a 24.2% YoY expansion in September compared to a year ago, led by pharmaceutical and electronics, according to the latest figures released by EDB Singapore.

It beat market expectations of a modest 2.5% growth, and is its highest since December 2011 and April 2020, respectively, noted OCBC Treasury Research.

On a three-month moving average basis, manufacturing output increased 10.0% in September 2020, compared to a year ago.

Biomedical manufacturing output grew 89.8% in September compared to the same period in 2019. Pharmaceutical output skyrocketed 113.6% thanks to higher output of active pharmaceutical ingredients and biological products, whilst the medical technology segment grew 15% with higher export demand for medical instruments.

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, overall manufacturing output grew 8.5%.

The electronics cluster also rallied during the month, with output growing 30.1% YoY in September. The cluster’s growth was attributed to the semiconductors segment, which grew 37.4%, supported by demand from cloud services, data centres and the 5G market.

Chemicals cluster output also registered a 0.4% YoY growth during the month, with the specialties and other chemical segments grew 25.2% and 6.7% respectively. Growth was offset by the the petrochemicals and petroleum segments contracting 7.3% and 25.7% respectively, on the back of plant maintenance shutdowns.

On the other hand, the output of the precision engineering cluster dropped 1.5% YoY with the machinery & systems segment shrinking by 0.7% on the back of lower output of industrial process equipment, refrigerating & air-conditioning equipment and mechanical engineering works. The precision modules & components segment also fell 3.8%, on account of lower production of optical products as well as dies, moulds, tools, jigs and fixtures.

General manufacturing output also recorded an 8% YoY contraction, with all segments recording output declines. The food, beverage & tobacco segment fell 6.1% largely due to lower production of milk powder as a result of plant maintenance.

Meanwhile, the miscellaneous industries segment fell 8% as output of construction-related products was negatively affected by the slow resumption of domestic construction activities. The printing segment also shrank 16.7% with lower demand for print jobs.

The transport engineering cluster also remains subdued, with Output shrinking 35.8% YoY in September. Whilst the land segment grew by 35.1%, it was offset by declines in the marine & offshore engineering (-40.9%) and aerospace (-44.0%) segments.

The levels of activity in the yards and aerospace firms remained low as new orders were adversely impacted by the weak global oil & gas market and coronavirus-led travel restrictions, according to EDB Singapore.