Singapore: Monthly manufacturing performance for Feb 2013

I     Total Manufacturing Performance

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output declined 0.7% in February 2013 compared to January 2013.  Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output also fell 0.7%.  On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output contracted 16.6% in February 2013, partly attributed to lower activities over the Lunar New Year period.  Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output fell 16.2%.  On a three-month moving average basis, manufacturing output declined 4.9% in February 2013, compared to a year ago.   

II     Performance by cluster

The chemicals cluster’s output declined 3.7% on a year-on-year basis in February 2013.  While the petrochemicals segment grew 1.6%, the petroleum (-2.6%), specialties (-5.9%) and other chemicals (-16.3%) segments recorded output declines.  Output of the chemicals cluster in the first two months of 2013 fell 0.1%, compared to the same period in 2012.     

The general manufacturing cluster’s output contracted 11.5% in February 2013 on a year-on-year basis.  The decline was registered across all segments as many firms shut down during the Lunar New Year period.  On a year-to-date basis, output of the general manufacturing cluster increased 1.2%, compared to the same period a year ago.
Output of the transport engineering cluster fell 15.7% year-on-year in February 2013.  The aerospace segment declined 9.4% due to weak demand for repair jobs from commercial airlines from US and Europe, while the marine & offshore engineering segment contracted 20.3% as a result of lower level of activities in oil rig and ship building.  

Output of the transport engineering cluster in the first two months of 2013 declined 4.3%, compared to the same period last year.
 
Output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster contracted 18.0% in February 2013, compared to the same period a year ago.  The medical technology segment contracted 5.4%, with lower export demand for medical devices and ophthalmic goods while the pharmaceuticals segment fell 20.3%.  On a year-to-date basis, output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster fell 16.7%, compared to the same period a year ago. 

Output of the precision engineering cluster was 19.5% lower year-on-year in February 2013 as production slowed over the Lunar New Year holiday.  The machinery & systems segment declined 15.5%, with lower output in lifting & hoisting machinery and semiconductor related equipment.  

The precision modules & components segment fell 23.8% with lower production in metal precision components and dies, moulds, jigs & fixtures.  Cumulatively, output of the precision engineering cluster declined 7.0% for the first two months of this year, compared to the same period last year. 

Output of the electronics cluster fell 21.1% in February 2013, compared to the same period a year ago.  In particular, the data storage segment shrank 40.1% due to the high base last year, when production of disk drives ramped up to make up for shortages caused by the flood in Thailand.  Cumulatively, output of the electronics cluster contracted 12.3% from January to February this year, compared to the same period last year. 

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