Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) rebounded to 0.7 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) in July 2023, spurred by the mining and electricity sectors, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the IPI returned to positive territory in July 2023, from the – 2.2 percent contraction in June 2023.
“The marginal increase in July 2023 was backed by the expansion in the mining sector (July: +4.2 percent, June: -6.4 percent) and the electricity sector (July: +1.5 percent, June: +2.8 percent).
“Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector continued to decline, albeit with a smaller decrease of 0.2 percent (June: -1.6 percent),” he said in a statement today.
On a month-on-month (m-o-m) comparison, he noted that the IPI fell by 1.8 percent, contrasting with the positive growth of 2.2 percent in June 2023.
He also noted that the manufacturing output was supported by the expansion in the domestic-oriented industries (July: 6.0 percent, June: 4.1 percent)
“The growth was propelled mainly by the double-digit growth of 11.9 percent in the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers.
“Additionally, the manufacture of fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment), as well as the manufacture of food processing products also supported the growth at 6.9 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohd Uzir said the export-oriented industries, which account for about two-thirds of the manufacturing output, remained on a downward trend at – 2.7 percent (June 2023: -3.9 percent).
This was primarily influenced by the decline in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (-10.1 percent), the manufacture of computer, electronics and optical products (-9.0 percent); and the manufacture of rubber products (-1.6 percent).
“This was in line with the country’s export performance which dropped by 13.1 percent in July 2023,” he said.
Mohd Uzir also highlighted that the output in the mining sector rose to 4.2 percent in July 2023 from – 6.4 percent in June 2023, driven by crude oil and condensate which registered double-digit growth of 11.8 percent (June 2023: -4.5 percent), while natural gas posted a smaller decline of 0.8 percent (June 2023: -7.8 percent).
At the same time, electricity output rose by 1.5 percent in July 2023 (June: 2.8 percent).
He also noted that in the first seven months of 2023 (7M2023), the IPI expanded at a slower rate of 1.2 percent y-o-y (7M2022: 6.4 percent), with all sectors posting positive growth, namely manufacturing index (1.4 percent), mining index (0.3 percent) and electricity index (1.6 percent).
