KUALA LUMPUR: The Industrial Production Index (IPI) gained 2.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in March 2024, driven by the expansion in all sectors, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the IPI remained positive albeit at a slower rate in March compared to the 3.1 per cent growth recorded in the preceding month.
The increase was spearheaded by the expansion in the manufacturing sector, which grew by 1.3 per cent, up from 1.2 per cent in February 2024.
"In the meantime, the mining and electricity sectors registered 4.9 per cent (February 2024: 8.1 per cent) and 7.8 per cent (February 2024: 10.9 per cent), respectively," said Mohd Uzir in a statement.
In comparison with the preceding month, Mohd Uzir said the IPI turned around to 7.5 per cent, contrasting with the negative 6.3 per cent recorded in the previous month.
Mohd Uzir said the export-oriented industries rebounded to 0.5 per cent in March 2024 from negative 0.2 per cent in February 2024, primarily led by the manufacture of computer, electronics and optical products; as well as the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products.
In a month-on-month comparison, the export-oriented industries augmented by 11.0 per cent as against the negative 5.8 per cent in February 2024, he added.
Meanwhile, the domestic-oriented industries recorded a modest 3.1 per cent growth compared to 4.1 per cent in February 2024, attributed to the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, the manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products and the manufacture of food processing products.
"In comparison with the preceding month, the domestic-oriented industries rebounded to 1.9 per cent from negative 7.2 per cent recorded in the previous month," he said.
For the first quarter of 2024 (1Q 2024), the IPI increased 3.3 per cent y-o-y against 0.8 per cent recorded in 4Q 2023, supported by the acceleration registered in the mining sector by 5.9 per cent and the electricity sector by 8.9 per cent.
"Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector turned upward to 2.1 per cent from the negative 0.2 per cent posted in the previous quarter.
"In a quarter-on-quarter comparison, the IPI gave up by 1.0 per cent influenced by the manufacturing sector at negative 1.8 per cent," he added.
The growth of output in the Mining sector slowed down to 4.9 per cent in March 2024 (February 2024: 8.1 per cent) as a consequence of a modest increase in Natural Gas production at 8.9 per cent (February 2024: 11.9 per cent).
Mohd Uzir said looking at the performance of several countries, the IPI for China and South Korea rose modestly while Vietnam and Taiwan returned to positive territories in March 2024.
Conversely, Singapore experienced a downturn, whereas the United States, Japan and Thailand continued to decline, he added.