Singapore's factories grew output by 1.8% in July 2024, but the biomedical sector shrank sharply by 17.4%, dragging down overall performance.
KEY POINTS
IN SIMPLE TERMS
Singapore made more factory products in July 2024 compared to a year earlier, which is good for the economy. However, the medicine and healthcare manufacturing part of the industry shrank a lot, pulling down the total gains.
WHY IT MATTERS
WHERE DO YOU STAND?
Should Singapore prioritise reviving biomedical manufacturing, or focus resources on growing sectors like transport engineering?
👍 👎 Vote ↓Singapore’s factories made more goods in July 2024, but not all sectors did well.
According to EDB, Singapore’s factories made 1.8% more goods in July 2024 than in July 2023.
When we don’t count biomedical manufacturing, the growth was even better at 3.4%.
Looking at the past three months, there was a tiny drop of 0.1% in how much factories made.
But from June to July 2024, factories made 10.1% more goods.
Some industries did better than others in July 2024.
Transport engineering grew the most at 13.3%.
General manufacturing, which includes food and drinks, grew by 7.3%.
Electronics grew by 2.8%.
Chemicals grew by 1.7%.
Precision engineering grew by 0.7%.
| Industry | Growth Rate |
|---|---|
| Transport Engineering | 13.3% |
| General Manufacturing | 7.3% |
| Electronics | 2.8% |
| Chemicals | 1.7% |
| Precision Engineering | 0.7% |
The transport engineering sector did very well in July ’24.
It grew by 13.3% compared to July 2023.
The aerospace part of this sector grew by 21.7%.
The land transport part grew by 16.5%.
According to EDB, “The aerospace segment recorded higher demand for aircraft parts and more maintenance, repair and overhaul jobs from commercial airlines.”
But the marine and offshore engineering part fell by 1.2%.
General manufacturing, which includes making food, drinks, and tobacco, grew by 7.3% in July 2024.
The food, drinks, and tobacco part of this sector grew by 8.4%.
This growth helped the overall manufacturing output to increase.
The electronics sector grew by 2.8% in July ’24.
Computer parts and data storage grew a lot, by 34.9%.
But the part that makes things for communications and consumer electronics fell by 6.6%.
The chemicals sector grew by 1.7% in July 2024.
Petrochemicals, which are chemicals made from oil, grew by 8.6%.
Precision engineering grew by 0.7%.
This growth came from making more plastic parts and electronic connectors.
Not all sectors did well in July ’24.
Biomedical manufacturing output fell by 17.4%.
The part that makes medicines (pharmaceuticals) fell by 27.4%.
This big drop affected the overall manufacturing growth.
The growth in manufacturing is good news for Singapore’s economy.
It shows that many industries are doing well, especially transport and electronics.
But the fall in biomedical manufacturing is a concern.
It might mean Singapore needs to find ways to make this sector stronger.
EDB will release the next report on Singapore manufacturing performance on 26 September 2024.
This will give us more information about how Singapore’s factories are doing.
The growth in many sectors is a good sign for Singapore’s economy.
Singapore’s factories made more goods in July 2024, showing the economy is growing despite some challenges.
Should Singapore prioritise reviving biomedical manufacturing, or focus resources on growing sectors like transport engineering?
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