Manufacturing output up 4.8% in August

That's excluding biomedical manufacturing.

According to the Department of Statistics, on a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output increased 3.5% in August 2013. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 4.8%.

On a three-month moving average basis, manufacturing output increased 0.6% in August 2013, compared to a year ago.

Output of the transport engineering cluster increased 18.1% year-on-year in August 2013. Higher contributions from rig building and ship conversion projects continued to support the growth of the marine & offshore engineering segment, which expanded 21.0%.

The land and aerospace segments also registered strong growth, of 14.2% and 12.7%, respectively. Output of the transport engineering cluster in the first eight months of 2013 rose 0.1%, compared to the same period last year.

Output of the electronics cluster grew 5.3% in August 2013, compared to the same period a year ago. Growth was contributed by the other electronic modules & components and semiconductors segments, which expanded 38.5% and 12.7%, respectively. 

The chemicals cluster’s output rose 4.9% year-on-year in August 2013, with most segments recording output growth. 

Output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster fell 1.9% in August 2013 on a year-on-year basis. The medical technology segment grew 6.4%, but this was more than offset by the pharmaceuticals segment, which declined 3.4% due to lower production of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

The general manufacturing cluster’s output declined 2.5% in August 2013, compared to a year ago. The miscellaneous industries segment grew 2.7%, supported by higher output in construction related materials such as concrete & cement products, and metal doors, windows, grilles & gratings.