Singapore’s manufacturing output declines by 3.9% in June 2024

Singapore’s manufacturing output dropped by 3.9% in June 2024 compared to the same period last year, with a milder decline of 1.6% excluding biomedical manufacturing, according to Economic Development Board data released on July 26.

On a three-month moving average basis, the output decreased by 1.0% year-on-year. Seasonally adjusted month-on-month data showed a 3.8% decline, and a steeper 6.4% decrease excluding biomedical manufacturing.

Transport Engineering: The output surged by 10.3% year-on-year in June 2024. The marine and offshore engineering segment expanded by 19.5% due to increased shipyard activity and higher production in oil and gas field equipment.

The aerospace segment grew by 12.4%, driven by higher production of aircraft parts and more maintenance, repair, and overhaul jobs from commercial airlines. For the first half of 2024, the transport engineering cluster’s output expanded by 12.1% compared to the same period in 2023.

Chemicals: The chemicals cluster saw a 5.9% year-on-year increase in output for June 2024. The specialties segment grew significantly by 17.3%, driven by higher production of mineral oil and food additives.

The petroleum and petrochemicals segments also experienced growth, with increases of 7.2% and 3.5%, respectively, from a low production base last year due to plant maintenance shutdowns. Conversely, the other chemicals segment declined by 2.0% due to lower output of fragrances. Year-to-date, the chemicals cluster grew by 6.1%.

General Manufacturing: This cluster experienced a modest increase of 1.6% year-on-year in June 2024. The food, beverages, and tobacco segment grew by 6.9%, while the printing segment increased by 2.0%.

However, the miscellaneous industries segment contracted by 6.4% due to lower production of construction-related materials. Overall, general manufacturing output decreased by 0.4% for the period from January to June 2024.

Precision Engineering: The cluster’s output declined by 3.2% year-on-year in June 2024, with all segments recording declines.

The precision modules and components segment decreased by 0.8%, and the machinery and systems segment contracted by 4.4%. Despite these declines, year-to-date output for the precision engineering cluster increased by 1.3%.

Electronics: The electronics cluster saw a 5.5% year-on-year decrease in output for June 2024.

Despite growth in the infocomms and consumer electronics (20.9%), computer peripherals and data storage (14.3%), and other electronics modules and components (6.5%) segments, the semiconductors segment declined by 9.4%. Overall, the electronics cluster contracted by 0.6% year-on-year for the first half of 2024.

Biomedical Manufacturing: This cluster experienced a significant contraction of 23.2% year-on-year in June 2024.

While the medical technology segment increased by 11.4%, supported by export demand for medical devices, the pharmaceuticals segment saw a sharp decline of 47.1% due to a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients produced compared to the previous year. Year-to-date, the biomedical manufacturing cluster decreased by 24.4%.