Factory output spikes 6.7% in September

The pharmaceuticals segment expanded 26.9%.

Singapore's manufacturing output has seen an improvement in the month of September as it recorded a 6.7% increase. Outputs recorded in the past month is 3.3% higher than what was reflected in August.

What gave the manufacturing sector a surprise increase was the surge in biomedical cluster, which upticked 22.2% in the said month.

According to the figures released by the Economic Development Board, the pharmaceuticals segment expanded 26.9% due to higher production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and biological products, while the medical technology segment grew 9.6% with higher export demand for medical instruments.

"Cumulatively, the biomedical manufacturing cluster’s output rose 8.2% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2015," the board said.

The rise in output can also be attributed to the increase in electronics cluster output, which saw a 15.9% expansion.

"The semiconductors segment grew 34.8%, but this was partially offset by declines in the rest of the electronic segments. On a year-to-date basis, output of the electronics cluster expanded 9.8% compared to the same period a year ago," EDB noted.

Out of all the clusters, only the transport engineering posted a contraction at 18.9%.

"The land transport and aerospace segments rose 9.1% and 0.9% respectively, with the aerospace segment recording higher engine repair jobs from commercial airlines. However, this was offset by decline in the marine & offshore engineering segment (31.5%) as rig building activities and demand for oilfield & gasfield equipment remained weak amidst the low oil price environment. In the first nine months of the year, output of the transport engineering cluster decreased 17.9% compared to the same period a year ago," the board explained.