PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) growth moderated to 1.8% in January, weighed down by slower output in the manufacturing sector, according to the Department of Statistics, Malaysia (DoSM) report released today.
According to Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Sri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, “The positive growth of IPI continued in January 2023, albeit at a more moderate rate of 1.8% as against 2.8% recorded in the preceding month. The moderation in industrial production was attributable to lower output growth in the manufacturing sector during the month which was 1.3% (December 2022: 3.0%) as well as a decline of the electricity output by 4.3% (December 2022: -2.2%).
“Meanwhile, mining production expanded by 5.9% as compared to 3.9% in December 2022. The year-on-year growth of IPI for January was also the lowest recorded since August 2021. A month-on-month comparison, the IPI decreased further by 2.3%, after registering a marginal decline of 0.6% in the previous month.”
Mohd Uzir said the output growth in the manufacturing sector was weighed down by the export-oriented industries which slowed to 0.6% from 2.7% in the previous month.
He added that while the production of the manufacture of computer, electronics & optical products was the largest contributor to the manufacturing sector, the output growth diminished to 0.8% (December 2022: 7.6%), in line with the slower momentum of the external trade sector and declining trend in global semiconductor industry during the month.
In the meantime, he said rapid expansion was observed in the manufacture of coke & refined petroleum products with the output growth of 11.0% and in the manufacture of vegetable & animal oils and fats with 8.3%.”
The production of domestic-oriented industries, which contributed to one-third of the manufacturing output, grew by 2.7% in January (December 2022: 3.8%), said Mohd Uzir, adding that the increase was propelled by the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers which accelerated by 12.2% (December 2022: 11.8%).
He said the output growth was positive in almost all domestic-oriented industries products except for the manufacture of beverages; and the manufacture of basic metals which posted declines during the month. In comparison with the preceding month, the manufacturing output declined further by 3.3% after registering a decrease of 1.2% a month earlier.
Commenting on the mining sector performance, Mohd Uzir said, “The expansion of 5.9% in the output of the mining sector was bolstered by the strong growth of 8.0% in the crude oiil & condensate index (December 2022: 4.2%) and 4.5% in the natural gas index (December 2022: 3.7%).
Compared with December 2022, the mining index grew by 1.7% against 1.1% growth recorded in the previous month.”
In the meantime, the electricity index posted a decline for two consecutive months to record a negative 4.3% in January after recording a fall of 2.2% last month. For month-on-month comparison, the electricity index shrank by 3.4% as against the positive growth of 0.9% recorded in December 2022.
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