Manufacturing output grew 3.4% in January

Biomedical manufacturing surged 41.1%.

Singapore’s manufacturing output rose 3.4% YoY and 18.2% MoM in January, according to figures from the Economic Development Board (EDB). Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output fell 3.8% YoY over the same period.

Biomedical manufacturing led growth amongst clusters as it expanded 41.1% YoY in January. Pharmaceutical output surged 59.4% YoY on the back of a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients being produced and higher production of biological products. On the other hand, output of the medical technology segment dipped 5.3%.

“We note that the only bright-spot for Singapore’s manufacturing sector is in the hopes that biomedical demand stays buoyant in the months to come,” said Barnabas Gan, economist at UOB Kay Hian.

Precision engineering output jumped 18.1% YoY as the machinery & systems segment rose 25.3%. On the other hand, general manufacturing output led the clusters that posted declines, as it contracted by 10.6% YoY due to the effects of the Lunar New Year Holidays.

It was followed by the transport engineering cluster, which saw output slide 9.3% YoY. Electronics output also went down 7.2% over the same period, whilst chemical output slipped 5.5% YoY in January 2020 as most of sub-segments fell.

“Singapore’s industrial production forecast is arguably dim at this juncture, owing to headwinds from the COVID-19 outbreak. Manufacturing confidence may have already deteriorated to-date as the global supply chain slows down due to the numerous factory closures in China,” Gan added.