S’pore factory output decline narrows to 1.6% in April despite resistance from biomedical and electronics sectors

SINGAPORE – Industrial production continued to decline in April, but the rate of decline – while worse than analysts forecast – was much slower than the large decline recorded in March.

Industrial production fell 1.6 percent in April compared to the same month last year, a marked improvement on the sector’s 9.2 percent decline recorded in March.

It has been a difficult period for the industry: it recorded 12 straight months of declines until October 2023 and only four months of gains since then.

If we exclude the biomedical sector, production in April actually increased by 1.7 percent year-on-year, as recorded by May 24 data from the Economic Development Council.

The worst performer was the biomedical cluster, which contracted by 29.1% in April, mainly due to the pharmaceutical segment, which declined by 54.6% due to lower production of products and a mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

The sector’s decline came despite a 13.6 percent growth in the medical technology segment due to increased export demand for devices.

The electronics cluster declined 1.1 percent year-on-year. While parts of the sector expanded, they were unable to offset a 2.6% decline in semiconductors, which make up the bulk of Singapore’s electronics output.

On the other hand, all other sectors expanded, led by transportation engineering, which seemed to be firing on all cylinders, with production increasing by 10.6%.

The marine and offshore engineering segment was a standout from transportation engineering, recording an 18.8% increase in production, supported by improved shipyard activity as well as increased equipment production in the oil and gas fields.

The aviation industry also performed well, with production increasing by 8.2% on increased demand from commercial airlines as global travel demand continued to grow strongly. Only the land segment shrank, by 3 percent.

Production also increased in the following industries: general, which increased by 7.3%, chemical, by 3.10%, and precision engineering, which increased by 2.9%.