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Singapore’s Manufacturing Output Rises for Sixth Month in a Row

manufacturing output

Singapore’s factory output rose again in April for the sixth consecutive month, driven by chemicals and precision engineering manufacturing, data from the Singapore Economic Development Board showed on 25 May. 

Manufacturing output rose by 2.1 percent in April 2021 on a year-on-year basis. On a three-month moving average basis, factory output in the ASEAN member state increased by 8.0 percent in April 2021 compared to the same period a year ago. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Singapore’s manufacturing output grew by 1.0 percent, according to Economic Development Board’s data.

Strong global demand for semiconductors drove a sharp increase in Singapore’s precision engineering industrial cluster in April, with factory output jumping by 20.4 percent year over year. The machinery and systems segment manufacturing output surged by 27.0 percent, supported by higher production of semiconductor equipment due to the strong capital investment in the global semiconductor industry, the Economic Development Board said.

Overall, Singapore’s precision engineering cluster expanded by 14.3 percent in the period January – April 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.

Electronics manufacturing output grew by 6.1 percent annually in April 2021 and soared by 21.7 percent in the first four months of 2021 compared to the same period of 2020.

Manufacturing output in chemicals rose by 14.4 percent year over year in April 2021. The petrochemicals segment jumped by 28.8 percent from a year ago when production was low due to plant maintenance shutdowns. The chemicals specialties segment expanded 15.2 percent, thanks to higher production of industrial gases and additives. Overall, Singapore’s chemicals manufacturing output grew 8.8 percent between January and April 2021 compared to the same period of 2020.