Singapore Manufacturing Output Hits Over 1-Year Low

Singapore’s manufacturing production rose 3.4% year-on-year in September 2026, slowing sharply from a three-month high of 15.4% in the previous month. It marked the lowest reading since August 2025, as electronics output growth moderated significantly (5.7% vs 28.3% in August), led by semiconductors (1.9% vs 25.9%) and infocomms and consumer electronics (29% vs 66.3%). Production was also weighed down by a further slowdown in precision engineering (31% vs 33%) and a sharp slip in biomedical manufacturing (-32.8% vs 2.3%). In contrast, output accelerated in transport engineering (10.6% vs 9.5%) and general manufacturing industries (4% vs 1.6%), while chemicals production declined at a softer pace (-4.6% vs -12.8%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, manufacturing output fell 3.9%, slipping further from an upwardly revised 1% drop in August and marking the steepest monthly fall since June. For the first nine months of 2026, manufacturing production increased 9.8%.

Singapore’s manufacturing production surged 15.4% year-on-year in August 2026, accelerating from a downwardly revised 6.8% in the previous month. The expansion was driven by sustained demand related to artificial intelligence, with output in the precision engineering cluster surging 33.9% amid higher production of semiconductor equipment in the machinery and systems segment. The electronics industry also soared 28.5%, supported by strong production of servers and related products, semiconductors and data storage products. Moreover, transport engineering output increased 9.5%, while biomedical manufacturing rose 0.4%. In contrast, chemicals output slumped 12.7%, dragged down by declines in the petroleum and petrochemicals segments. On a monthly basis, manufacturing output slipped 0.5%, reversing a 2.3% increase in July.

Singapore’s manufacturing production grew by 6.8% year-on-year in July 2026, slightly above market forecasts for a 6.9% gain but easing from a 7.5% rise in June. The latest reading marked the softest growth since February, largely driven by weaker output growth in electronics (11.2% vs 21.1% in June), particularly in semiconductors (8.0% vs 20.8%) and other electronic modules & components (2.5% vs 5.5%). Biomedical manufacturing also continued to decline (-5.3% vs -11.4%), while chemicals contracted 10.6% (vs -11.6%), weighed down by the petroleum and petrochemicals segments. Meanwhile, faster growth was recorded in precision engineering (17.7% vs 14.9%), transport engineering (10.8% vs 7.0%) and general manufacturing industries (4.9% vs -5.4%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, manufacturing output increased 2.3% in July, reversing a 7.2% decline in June. Considering the first seven months of the year, manufacturing output increased 9.8% from the same period a year earlier.