Manufacturing output slid 11.8% in December 2010

Biomedical manufacturing dragged down the manufacturing output in December 2010 and for the whole of 2010.

According to Singapore Economic Development Board, on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, exlcuding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 3.0% in December 2010.

On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output increased 9.0% in December 2010. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 10.8%.

Output of the precision engineering cluster grew 29.0% year-on-year in December 2010. Production from new plants, and robust demand for refrigerating and semiconductor related equipment led the machinery & systems segment to a gain of 49.1% in December. The precision modules and components segment also grew 7.6% with higher production of metal precision components. For the whole of 2010, the precision engineering cluster’s output expanded 40.1%.

The chemicals cluster’s output grew 9.1% year-on-year in December 2010. Higher output in the petroleum and petrochemicals segments more than offset the declines in the other segments. Cumulatively, output of the chemicals cluster grew 12.9% in 2010.

Output of the electronics cluster increased 9.0% in December 2010 from the same period in 2009. Within the cluster, the infocomms & consumer electronics and semiconductor segments recorded output gains of 29.4% and 15.9% respectively while the rest of the segments registered declines. On a year-to-date basis, electronics output increased 35.5%.

The transport engineering cluster’s output expanded 8.1% in December 2010 on a year-on-year basis. The aerospace and marine & offshore engineering segments grew 22.4% and 4.7% respectively on the back of higher level of activities to meet scheduled deliveries. For the whole of 2010, output of the cluster declined 4.6%.

Output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster expanded 1.2% year-on-year in December. The moderated performance in the cluster was mainly due to a pullback in pharmaceuticals output, as a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients was produced. The medical technology segment also registered a decline with lower export demand for medical instruments. On a year-to-date basis, the biomedical output grew 49.8%.

Output of the general manufacturing cluster edged up 0.7% year-on-year in December 2010. The food, beverages & tobacco segment’s output grew 3.4% on the back of festive demand. The printing and miscellaneous industries segments, on the other hand, slipped 0.1% and 0.4% respectively. Cumulative output of the cluster for the whole of 2010 rose 10.7% compared to 2009.