Singapore factory output growth slows to 3.4% in September
Pharmaceutical production fell 65.9%, while demand linked to artificial intelligence continued to support electronics and precision engineering.
Singapore’s manufacturing output increased 3.4 per cent year on year in September, down from August’s 15.4 per cent rise, the Economic Development Board said on 26 October. The result was below the 7.1 per cent growth forecast in a Bloomberg poll of economists.
Biomedical manufacturing was the biggest drag, contracting 32.8 per cent. Pharmaceutical output dropped 65.9 per cent as the mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients produced changed, following a 4 per cent decline in August. Medical technology production fell 1.7 per cent amid weaker export demand. Manufacturing excluding the biomedical cluster grew 9 per cent.
Precision engineering led the expanding clusters with a 31 per cent increase. Higher semiconductor equipment production helped lift the machinery and systems segment by 34.8 per cent, while precision modules and components grew 12.4 per cent.
Demand related to artificial intelligence supported electronics, but the cluster’s growth eased to 5.7 per cent from 28.3 per cent in August. Semiconductor output rose 1.9 per cent, compared with 25.9 per cent in August. Infocomms and consumer electronics grew 29 per cent, while computer peripherals and data storage increased 21.3 per cent.
Transport engineering expanded 10.6 per cent. The land segment grew 31.4 per cent and aerospace rose 16.3 per cent, supported by aircraft parts production and commercial airline maintenance work. Marine and offshore engineering declined 6.3 per cent.
General manufacturing industries grew 4 per cent, with food, beverages and tobacco output rising 11 per cent. Chemicals production fell 4.6 per cent: petrochemicals contracted 24.3 per cent amid weaker demand and feedstock supply disruptions, while specialties and petroleum increased 14.3 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively.
