Manufacturing output in June increased 22.5%

(I) Total Manufacturing Performance

1. Manufacturing output in June this year was higher than in June last year by 22.5%. All clusters expanded with the biomedical manufacturing cluster spearheading the growth with an increase in output of almost 60%. Excluding the biomedical manufacturing cluster, output for June grew by 13.3%. The three-month moving average for June's total manufacturing output grew 12.5%. The seasonally adjusted month-on-month growth for June was 19.3%. Cumulatively, manufacturing output for the first six months of 2006 grew 16.4% compared to the same period last year.

(II) Performance by cluster

2. The biomedical manufacturing cluster grew substantially in June this year. Output increased 59.4% over last June. This was due to the 69.2% growth in the pharmaceuticals segment. There was higher production of different types of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The medical technology segment contracted by 7.0% with less shipment overseas. Cumulatively, the cluster grew 29.6% in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year.

3. Output of the transport engineering cluster increased 30.4% year-on-year in June. The marine & offshore engineering segment grew 53.6% with shipyards working vigorously on ship building and ship repairing projects. Oil rig fabricators also completed more stages in their fabrication of jack-up rigs. Output of the aerospace segment increased 4.0%, mainly in repairs for commercial aircraft. The output of the land transport segment contracted 20.3% arising from less demand for land vehicles. For the first six months of 2006, the cluster grew cumulatively by 34.2% compared to the same period in 2005.

4. The electronics cluster achieved 10.3% growth in June with expansions in the semiconductors and computer peripherals segments. The production of semiconductors rose 33.7%, riding on continued demand for DRAMs and NAND products for mobile consumer electronic products. Higher production of printers and related products led to a 9.1% growth for the computer peripherals segment. The output of infocomms & consumer electronics dipped 3.5%. Slower demand for disk drives and relocation of production resulted in the contraction of 21.0% for the data storage segment. Cumulative output of the electronics cluster grew 12.6% in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year.

5. The precision engineering cluster grew 15.4% year-on-year in June. Higher growth was seen in the machinery & systems segment whose output rose 37.5%. This came from higher production of semiconductor machinery & equipment, industrial process control equipment, special purpose machinery, lifting, hoisting & conveying machinery and transformers. Output of the precision modules & components segment grew 3.4% due mainly to increased production of wires, metal stamping, die castings and plastic packaging products. Cumulatively, the cluster's output grew 12.4% in the first six months of 2006.

6. The chemicals cluster grew 3.4% this June compared to June 2005. Output of petrochemicals was 20.0% higher than in June last year arising from increased capacities in some plants and higher regional demand for petrochemicals. The production of specialties chemicals also increased 12.6% with higher output of industrial gases, food chemicals, electronic chemicals and paints. The production of petroleum refined products contracted 9.0%. It was brought down by short durations of unplanned maintenance shutdowns in some plants. Cumulatively, the chemicals cluster grew 4.1% in the first six months of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005.

7. The general manufacturing industries grew 8.1% in June. The food, beverages and tobacco industries grew 17.3% with higher production of a variety of foods, drinks and tobacco products. Output of the printing industries was almost at the same level as June last year. For the first six months of this year, this grouping of industries recorded a cumulative growth of 5.1%.

8. The Monthly Index is available from the Research & Statistics Unit of the Economic Development Board. For further information, please contact Miss Kok Yit Hoe by tel - 6832 6741 / fax - 68326493 / email yithoe@ edb.gov.sg

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