The manufacturing sector recorded stronger growth in April 2026, with total sales rising 9.1% year-on-year to RM175.0 billion, driven primarily by continued expansion in the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
The April growth marked an acceleration from the 5.3% increase recorded in March, while sales also edged up 1.1% month-on-month from RM173.1 billion.
The E&E products subsector remained the main growth driver, posting a 13.4% increase in sales value, slightly higher than the 13.3% growth recorded in March. The performance was complemented by stronger sales in the food, beverages and tobacco subsector, which expanded 9.0%, and the petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products subsector, which returned to growth with a 4.4% increase after contracting 5.1% in March.
Export-oriented industries, which accounted for 70.6% of total manufacturing sales, grew 9.6% year-on-year in April, up from 6.5% in the preceding month. The expansion was led by the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, which rose 15.0%, while vegetable and animal oils and fats increased 11.0%.
Sales from the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products also recovered, growing 5.3% compared with a 2.8% decline recorded in March.
Despite the annual growth, export-oriented industries registered a marginal 0.5% decline compared with March on a month-on-month basis.
Domestic-oriented industries also showed stronger momentum, with sales increasing 7.8% year-on-year compared with 2.5% growth in March. The improvement was supported by higher output from food processing activities, non-metallic mineral products and basic metals manufacturing.
On a monthly basis, domestic-oriented industries expanded 5.1%.
Employment in the manufacturing sector rose 1.2% year-on-year to 2.4 million workers in April, supported by hiring in the food, beverages and tobacco segment, non-metallic mineral products and fabricated metal products, as well as the E&E industry.
The sector also recorded a 0.7% month-on-month increase in employment, reversing the previous trend.
Total salaries and wages paid by manufacturers increased 3.1% year-on-year to RM8.56 billion during the month, while average salaries and wages per employee rose 1.8% to RM3,524.
Meanwhile, sales value per employee climbed 7.7% to RM71,993.
For the January-April 2026 period, cumulative manufacturing sales grew 6.4% year-on-year to RM676.5 billion, compared with 4.2% growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Over the same period, employment in the sector increased 1.2% to 2.4 million workers, while total salaries and wages rose 2.5% to RM34.4 billion.
DOSM noted that the April 2026 figures are provisional and will be revised when updated data becomes available in the May 2026 publication.
