PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) recorded year-on-year growth of 3.2% in March, driven by the output growth of the manufacturing and mining sectors.
Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement today the increase was contributed by output growth in the manufacturing and mining sectors of 4% and 1.9%, respectively. Meanwhile, the electricity sector’s output remained in the negative range at -2.7%.
In terms of monthly comparison, the IPI recorded an increase of 9.3% compared to -6.8% posted in February.
The increase in manufacturing sector production in March was supported by production in export-oriented industries, which grew to 4.8% compared to 5.7% recorded in February. This was primarily underpinned by growth in the manufacture of computers, electronic and optical products, which recorded an increase of 9%, followed by the manufacture of oils and fats from vegetables and animals (10.6%).
Manufacturing chemicals and chemical products also contributed at a rate of 4.9%. In addition, export-oriented industries grew by 10.1% compared to -5.6% in the previous month.
Domestic-oriented industries grew 2.3% in March, compared to the 2.9% growth recorded in the previous month. This increase was contributed by manufacture of food processing products (7.8%), manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment (4.2%), and manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products (3.7%).
Compared to the previous month, domestic-oriented industries’ output increased by 1.3%.
Mohd Uzir said the 1.9% growth in the mining sector in March was driven by increase in the output of crude petroleum and condensate, and the production of natural gas, which respectively recorded increases of 2.2% and 1.8%.
“In terms of monthly comparison, the mining index increased to 17.8% compared to negative 12.5% recorded in February 2025,“ he added.
Meanwhile, the electricity index remained at a negative rate of 2.7% in March compared to the negative 2.8% recorded in the corresponding month of last year. In a month-on-month comparison, the electricity index increased by 11.2%.
The IPI recorded a slower growth of 2.3% in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the 3.4% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024. In a quarterly comparison, the IPI recorded negative 2.1%.
