Singapore factory output growth eases to 3.4% in September
Precision engineering expanded 31%, while biomedical manufacturing contracted 32.8%, according to Economic Development Board figures.
Singapore’s manufacturing sector posted annual output growth of 3.4% for September, compared with 15.4% for August, the Economic Development Board (EDB) reported. Production excluding the biomedical cluster increased 9%, slower than August’s 16.8%.
The biomedical cluster moved from 2.3% growth in August to a 32.8% contraction, the sharpest decline across the six clusters. Pharmaceutical production fell 65.9% as manufacturers changed the mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Weaker overseas demand contributed to a 1.7% decrease in medical technology output.
After seasonal adjustment, September’s factory production was down 3.9% month on month. Removing biomedical manufacturing from the measure left a decline of 5.5%.
Annual gains were recorded in four clusters. Precision engineering rose 31%, with semiconductor equipment production helping drive the increase. Transport engineering expanded 10.6%, supported by aircraft parts and commercial airline maintenance work, although weaker shipyard activity and reduced oil and gas equipment production limited growth.
Electronics production rose 5.7%, following August’s 28.3% increase. EDB linked growth in most segments to strong artificial intelligence-related demand. General manufacturing grew 4%, while chemicals fell 4.6%. EDB cited weak demand and feedstock supply disruptions as continuing constraints on petrochemicals.
Manufacturing production over the first nine months was up 9.8% year on year. With biomedical manufacturing excluded, the increase was 13.4%.
