S'pore Manufacturing Output Beats Forecast With 7.1% Rise in July

Five of 6 industry clusters post year-on-year growth; key electronics industry up 13.1%

- Benjamin Lim

Singapore's manufacturing output rose for the 13th straight month in July at a rate that surprised economists who were expecting anaemic growth.

Total output increased 7.1 per cent year on year, according to data released by the Economic Development Board on Aug 26. This easily beats the 0.9 per cent growth forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg poll.

Excluding the more volatile biomedical industry, production rose by an even larger 9.4 per cent.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output in July grew 8.2 per cent. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, it expanded 7.1 per cent.

Year on year, five of the six industry clusters saw output grow in July.

The key electronics industry, which accounts for more than a third of total output, saw big gains, with production expanding 13.1 per cent.

Semiconductor output rose 9.6 per cent, while other electronic modules and components segments expanded 1.9 per cent. The infocomm and consumer electronics segment saw an 86.8 per cent increase in output, thanks to higher demand for server-related products.

The related precision engineering industry saw output increase 9.6 per cent.

Demand for chipmaking equipment led to an 11.7 per cent expansion for the machinery and systems segment, while the precision modules and components segment rose 0.9 per cent, with higher output of plastic precision components and electronic connectors.