SINGAPORE's manufacturing fell 3.4 per cent in March from a year earlier, according to data published by the Economic Development Board (EDB).

But compared with the previous month, manufacturing output grew 2.7 per cent in March after adjusting for seasonal variations. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 2.9 per cent during the same period. Manufacturing output for the first three months of 2012 fell one per cent compared to the same period a year ago.

On a year on year basis, output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster fell 3.3 per cent in March. The medical technology segment expanded 14.2 per cent, while the pharmaceuticals segment contracted 6.3 per cent, mainly due to a different production mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients. On a year to date basis, output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster was 18.4 per cent higher compared to the same period a year ago.

The transport engineering cluster's output expanded 20.8 per cent year on year in March 2012. The aerospace segment grew 23.2 per cent on the back of strong demand for maintenance and repair jobs from commercial airlines. The marine and offshore engineering segment's output grew 22.1 per cent with increased activities in rig building, ship conversion as well as higher production of oil field equipment. Output of the transport engineering cluster increased 19.7 per cent in the first three months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.

Output of the general manufacturing cluster in March grew 4.1 per cent year on year, while the precision engineering cluster contracted marginally by 0.3 per cent during the same period. The chemicals cluster fell 4.7 per cent compared to March 2011, and the electronics cluster was 15.9 per cent lower in March 2012 compared to a year ago.