Singapore's manufacturing output down 4.8 pct in September year-on- year

Singapore's manufacturing output declined 4.8 percent year-on-year in September, according to the Economic Development Board (EDB) on Monday.

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, the country's manufacturing output fell 10.2 percent year-on-year, said EDB in the press release. On a three-month moving average basis, manufacturing output contracted 6.2 percent in September compared with the same period last year.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output increased 0.5 percent in September. While excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 0.3 percent.

The biomedical manufacturing cluster's output increased 26.3 percent year-on-year, with both the pharmaceuticals and medical technology segment recording output growth.

The chemicals cluster's output increased 4.4 percent on a year- on-year basis, led by the growth of specialties segment, which increased 8.8 percent on the back of expanded production capacities. The petroleum and petrochemicals segments also posted gains of 4.9 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

Output of transport engineering cluster encountered the biggest hit, falling 24 percent in September year-on-year, with all segments registering declines. The marine and offshore engineering segment led the decline, as a result of lower levels of rig building and ship building activities.

The general manufacturing industries cluster's output fell 4.7 percent compared with the same period a year ago, weighed down by contractions in the miscellaneous industries, printing and food, beverages and tobacco segments.

The precision engineering cluster also saw a decline of 8.7 percent on a year-on-year basis. The machinery and systems segment declined 8.3 percent, while the precision modules and components segment contracted 9.3 percent.

The electronics cluster's output also contracted 8.6 percent in September. Nearly all segments recorded declines except the other electronics modules and components segment, which saw growth on the back of expanded capacities and higher demand for components used in communication devices.