[SINGAPORE] The Republic’s manufacturing output gained 5.8 per cent year on year (yoy) in March, strengthening from the previous month’s 0.9 per cent growth on the year. This was as manufacturing for the key electronics cluster recovered.
Still, the latest reading came in under private-sector economists’ forecasts of an 8.1 per cent expansion in a Bloomberg poll.
Excluding the volatile biomedical sector, March’s industrial production rose 4.9 per cent on the year, data from the Economic Development Board showed on Friday (Apr 25). This was up from February’s revised growth of 2.8 per cent.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, manufacturing output fell 3.6 per cent in March. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output decreased 0.8 per cent month on month.
Performance by cluster
Half the clusters tracked reported increases in production yoy.
Output in the key electronics cluster recovered strongly in March, surging 8.9 per cent after reporting a mere 0.2 per cent expansion in February.
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Most segments within the cluster marked positive growth, with semiconductors up 8.2 per cent yoy, infocomms and consumer electronics climbing 14.1 per cent, and other electronic modules and components climbing 1.6 per cent. Only the computer peripherals and data storage segment shrank – down 2.9 per cent yoy.
Other clusters posting growth were:
Volatile biomedical manufacturing recorded a decline of 14.3 per cent in February. In March, however, both the pharmaceuticals (44.1 per cent) and medical technology (0.3 per cent) segments marked yoy growth.
The former segment recorded higher production of biological products as well as a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients being manufactured compared to the previous year, EDB noted.
In contrast, output slid for:
The yoy contraction for the chemicals and general manufacturing clusters deepened in March, compared to smaller declines of 0.9 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively, in the preceding month.
Growth for precision engineering also turned negative in March, compared with 15.7 per cent growth on the year in February.
