PETALING JAYA: The sales value of the manufacturing sector rose by 5.7% year-on-year, reaching RM153.2 billion in April 2024, according to Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin
“The sales value of the manufacturing sector rose by 5.7% to RM153.2 billion in April 2024, marking the highest growth in 13 months due to a lower value base effect. The increase was mainly propelled by sales in the sub-sectors of transport equipment & other manufactures (16.9%); non-metallic mineral products, basic metal & fabricated metal products (12.8%); and electrical & electronics products (2.7%),” he said.
Nonetheless, he added, the manufacturing sector sales value contracted by 3.3% from RM158.4 billion registered in the preceding month.
The sales value of export-oriented industries, which contributed 69.9% of total sales, turned upwards by 3.4% from a negative 0.1% in March 2024.
The increase was attributable to the expansion in the manufacture of chemicals & chemical products (9.9%); manufacture of vegetable & animal oils & fats (8.3%); and manufacture of computer, electronics & optical products (2.9%) industries.
On a month-on-month comparison, the sales value of export-oriented industries dropped by 3.9% as against the double-digit growth of 10.0% registered in March 2024.
Likewise, domestic-oriented industries strengthened further by registering strong growth of 11.4% in April 2024 (March 2024: 5.4%).
The acceleration was propelled by the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers; and the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery & equipment, which surged by 23.1% and 17%, respectively.
Compared to the previous month, the sales value of domestic-oriented industries decreased by 1.9%, in contrast to the positive 4.7% recorded in March 2024.
Mohd Uzir said, “There were 2.37 million persons engaged in the manufacturing sector in April 2024, which rose by 1% as compared to 2.35 million persons recorded a year ago (March 2024: 0.5%).”
He added that the increase was predominantly in the food, beverages & tobacco (4.7%); non-metallic mineral products, basic metal & fabricated metal products (2.3%); and wood, furniture, paper products & printing (1.3%) sub-sectors.
In comparison to the preceding month, he said the number of employees in this sector increased marginally by 0.4%.
In line with the increase in the number of employees, salaries and wages paid in the manufacturing sector grew by 1.2% year-on-year to record RM8.11 billion in April 2024.
On a month-on-month comparison, salaries and wages continued to decline by 1.4% from RM8.23 billion recorded in March 2024. The average monthly salaries and wages per employee was RM3,419 in April 2024, an uptick by 0.2% compared to a year ago, while sales value per employee improved by 4.6% to RM64,583.
On the overall performance of the manufacturing sector for the first four months of 2024, Mohd Uzir said, “The sales value of the manufacturing sector reached RM610.6 billion, increased by 2.7% as compared to the same period of 2023 (January-April 2023: 5.5%). During this period, the number of employees went up by 1% to a total of 2.37 million persons, while salaries and wages grew by 1.2% to RM32.9 billion. Consequently, the sales value per employee stood at RM257,337 during the period, posting a growth of 1.7%.”
