Singapore Manufacturing Output Exceeds Forecasts

Singapore’s manufacturing production fell by 0.1% year-on-year in February 2026, reversing a 12.9% surge in the previous month. This marked the first month of decline in manufacturing activity since August last year, driven by weaker output across nearly all sub-sectors except electronics. Biomedical manufacturing (-27.3% vs -33.6% in January) recorded the sharpest contraction, reflecting shifts in pharmaceutical output (-18% vs -44.8%) and softer demand for medical devices (-30.4% vs -28.1%). General manufacturing (-5.7% vs -2.6%) also declined, as well as chemicals (-4.6% vs 2.3%), precision engineering (-3.5% vs 14%), and transport engineering (-0.2% vs 25.2%). Meanwhile, the electronics cluster (13.7% vs 34%) remained the key outperformer, driven in part by AI-related demand. On a monthly basis, manufacturing output decreased by 7.2% in February, slipping from a 2% rise in the preceding period.

Singapore's manufacturing production surged 16.6% year-on-year in January 2026, accelerating from an upwardly revised 10.9% gain and surpassing market expectations of 11% growth. Electronics output soared to 44% from 19.6% in December, largely driven by a sharp expansion in semiconductors (52% vs 20.5%). Overall growth was also supported by stronger performances in chemicals (2.3% vs 1.3%) and precision engineering (13.2% vs 8.1%). On the other hand, production contracted sharply in biomedical manufacturing (-33.1% vs -10.9%), while growth slightly eased in transport engineering (25.2% vs 26.4%). In addition, output in general manufacturing industries fell (-2.6% vs 0.4%). On a monthly basis, output rose 5.3%, rebounding from a 13.3% fall in the previous month. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, manufacturing production climbed to 24.1% in January 2026, from 13.1% in the prior month.

Singapore’s manufacturing production rose 8.3% year-on-year in December 2025, easing from an upwardly revised 18.2% growth in November and falling short of the expected 10.1% increase. This marks the softest rise since a decline in August, weighed down by a sharp fall in biomedical manufacturing (-38.8% vs 79.1% in November), primarily due to lower pharmaceutical output (-69.7%). Production also contracted in chemicals (-1.6% vs 2.1%), while transport engineering expanded at a slower pace (19.9% vs 24.2%). Meanwhile, electronics output grew faster (30.8% vs 18.1%), driven by a steeper rise in semiconductors (32.4%). Production also increased for precision engineering (3.4% vs 2.4%) and remained unchanged for general manufacturing industries (0% vs -2.6%). On a monthly basis, manufacturing activity slumped 13.3%, the largest decline since October 2020, following a 7.8% drop in November.