Singapore's manufacturing output down 0.5 pct in March

Singapore's manufacturing output declined marginally by 0.5 percent in March on a yearly basis, said the country's Economic Development Board (EDB) on Tuesday.

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output fell 5.5 percent.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output increased 1.0 percent in March. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output fell 1.0 percent.

The biomedical manufacturing cluster's output expanded most at 23.1 percent in March, compared to the same period a year ago. Among them, the pharmaceuticals segment grew 27.9 percent on the back of a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients produced.

Output of the medical technology segment also increased 9.4 percent with higher export demand for medical devices. On a year-to-date basis, the biomedical manufacturing cluster increased 19.4 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

Output of the electronics cluster increased 5.8 percent compared to the same month last year. The semiconductors segment's output grew 21.7 percent but this was partially offset by declines in the rest of the electronic segments. Cumulatively, output of the electronics cluster grew 3.0 percent in the first three months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

The general manufacturing industries cluster's output increased 0.9 percent, which was largely attributed to the food, beverages & tobacco segment, which recorded a growth of 10.0 percent, while the chemicals cluster's output fell 4.9 percent.

Output of the transport engineering cluster fell most at 23.1 percent year-on-year, with the land and marine & offshore engineering segments contracted 24.7 percent and 35.0 percent respectively. The marine & offshore engineering segment remained weak, on account of lower level of rig-building activity and weaker demand for oilfield & gasfield equipment amidst the low oil price environment, according to EDB. Enditem