Manufacturing output rose 39.4% in January 2010

Electronics and biomedical manufacturing clusters were the top performers with 80.6% and 48.4% year-on-year growth respectively.

Higher demand for chips used in consumer electronics along with last year's low base pushed the manufacturing output growth for the electronics cluster. Biggest contributor was the semiconductors segment which saw a 105% increase in manufacturing output. Meanwhile the segment other electronic modules & components grew 90.8%.

With the pharmaceutical segment posting a 51.1% increase in manufacturing output, year-on-year performance for the biomedical manufacturing cluster surged 48.4%. Higher demand for medical equipment pushed the output of the medical technology segment to 12%.

The precision engineering cluster grew 37.4% year-on-year in January, with two of its segments seeing increased demand in support of the semiconductor industry. Output for the precision modules & components segment rose 45.8%, and the machinery & systems segment saw 28.3% growth.

Increased output across all segments within the general manufacturing industries pushed the cluster's growth to 20.2%, with the miscellaneous industries and the printing segments seeing 27.8% and 17.6% increase in output.

In the field of chemicals, the petroleum segment declined 16.3% on weak refining margins while the specialties and petrochemicals segments both posted growth at 46.5% and 45.2%. Overall performance for the chemicals cluster was at 17.8% year-on-year growth in January.

Meanwhile output for the transport engineering cluster dropped 13.4%. Only the land transport segment saw growth at 23.6% while output for the marine and offshore engineering segment fell 26.7%. This was due to fewer ship conversion projects and lower percentage of completion for marine and offshore projects.