SINGAPORE - The Republic's manufacturing output rose for a third straight month in December last year, boosted by growth in the biomedical, transport and precision engineering sectors.

Production increased 15.6 per cent last month on an annual basis after a revised 14.1 per cent growth last November, according to data released by the Economic Development Board (EDB) on Wednesday (Jan 26).

Overall, manufacturing output expanded 13.2 per cent in 2021.

Excluding the volatile biomedical manufacturing cluster, output in December was up 5 per cent, a lower rate of expansion than the 11.9 per cent seen in November.

Singapore's key electronics sector saw production decline by 2.9 per cent last month, down from a high base in the same month a year earlier.

However, the full-year output of Singapore's top export sector jumped by 14.5 per cent.

Within electronics, the drop last December was led by the semiconductors segment that recorded a decline of 6.9 per cent. Meanwhile, computer peripherals and data storage saw an output drop of 0.1 per cent.

In the same sector, infocomm and consumer electronics output rose 30.8 per cent. The other electronic modules and components segments increased output by 5.3 per cent.

The biomedical manufacturing sector, the month's top performer, expanded by 87.7 per cent.

Within the sector, the pharmaceuticals segment expanded 162.3 per cent from a low production base last year and amid higher production of biological products and a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

However, production dropped in the medical technology segment by 3.4 per cent due to lower export demand for medical devices.

Overall, the output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster grew by 11.1 per cent in 2021.

The transport engineering sector's output increased by 40.8 per cent last December, with the aerospace segment posting a 58.9 per cent increase.

Aerospace performance was backed by higher demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul activities amid the easing of global travel restrictions.

Meanwhile, the marine and offshore engineering segment rose by 49.8 per cent, with more work done in shipbuilding and repairing activities.

The transport engineering cluster grew by 13.2 per cent in 2021.

Precision engineering output grew by 16.4 per cent in December.

The machinery and systems segment experienced 26 per cent growth helped by higher output in semiconductor and process control equipment.

By contrast, the precision modules and components segment fell by 1.6 per cent with lower output of optical products.

In the whole of 2021, the output of the precision engineering cluster increased by 18.9 per cent.