SINGAPORE, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's manufacturing output fell 0.3 percent year-on-year in June, said the country's Economic Development Board (EDB) on Tuesday.
Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 2.4 percent year-on-year in June, said EDB in the press release.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output declined 2.5 percent in June compared with the same month last year. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 1.8 percent.
The transport engineering cluster was the weakest performing sector, with output falling 17.2 percent year-on-year in June. The aerospace segment grew 21.8 percent in June, while the land transport and marine and offshore engineering segments posted declines of 20.5 percent and 32.1 percent respectively. The latter segment was affected by a lower level of rig-building activity and lackluster demand for oilfield and gasfield equipment amidst the low oil price environment.
EDB said the output of biomedical manufacturing cluster contracted 10.2 percent in June, compared to the same period in 2015. The medical technological segment grew 10.2 percent, but this was offset by a 15.3 percent decrease in the pharmaceutical segment, which was due to a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients being produced, as well as lower output of biological products.
The chemicals cluster's output fell 5.1 percent year-on-year in June. The petroleum and specialties segments registered increases in output of 14.1 percent and 1.1 percent respectively; however, output of the other chemicals and petrochemicals segments fell 3.0 percent and 14.6 percent respectively. EDB said that decline in the petrochemicals segment was mainly attributed to plant maintenance shutdowns.
As for general manufacturing industries, the cluster's output decreased 4.5 percent year-on-year in June. While the food, beverages and tobacco segment grew 6.8 percent, the miscellaneous industries and printing segments fell 13.2 percent and 15.3 percent respectively.
The electronics cluster registered the best performing in June, with output increasing 19.7 percent year-on-year. The cluster recorded higher output in the semiconductor and data storage segments. However, this was partially offset by declines in the rest of the electronic segments.
Output of the precision engineering cluster increased 4.3 percent in June year-on-year, said EDB. The machinery and systems segment increased 8.9 percent as a result of higher export demand for semiconductor related equipment, as well as higher volume of mechanical engineering works. The precision modules and components segment, however, contracted 3.4 percent.
