Singapore’s manufacturing sector experienced a significant downturn in August 2025, with output decreasing by 7.8% compared to the same month last year. This decline was primarily driven by a sharp contraction in the biomedical manufacturing sector. Excluding this sector, the overall manufacturing output saw a smaller decrease of 2.9%. On a month-on-month basis, the seasonally adjusted figures showed a 9.7% decline, with a 3.5% drop when excluding biomedical manufacturing.
The transport engineering sector emerged as a bright spot, recording an 18.9% increase in output year-on-year. This growth was largely attributed to the aerospace segment, which surged by 36% due to higher production of aircraft parts and ongoing maintenance, repair, and overhaul activities for commercial airlines. However, the land segment within transport engineering saw a 24.5% decline.
In contrast, the chemicals sector posted a modest 3.5% increase in output, driven by a 12.4% rise in the petroleum segment and a 10.9% increase in other chemicals, including fragrances. Despite these gains, the petrochemicals segment faced an 18% decline due to plant maintenance shutdowns.
The electronics sector experienced a 4.8% decrease in output, with significant contractions in semiconductors and other electronic components. However, the infocomms and consumer electronics segment expanded by 42.4%, buoyed by increased production of server-related products.
General manufacturing output fell by 13.9%, impacted by declines in the printing, miscellaneous industries, and food, beverages, and tobacco segments. The biomedical manufacturing sector saw a dramatic 37.3% contraction, primarily due to a 59.3% drop in the pharmaceuticals segment.
