September manufacturing sales at RM158.7bil

KUALA LUMPUR: The sales value of the manufacturing sector dipped by 1.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM158.7bil in September 2023 from RM161.7bil in the same month last year, says the Statistics Department.

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the decrease was mainly due to the continuous decline of 12.3% in the petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic sub-sector.

“Additionally, the food, beverage and tobacco sub-sector contracted by 1.7% and the wood, furniture, paper products and printing sub-sector fell by 0.7%,” he said in the Monthly Manufacturing Statistics report released yesterday.

As compared to the preceding month, the sales value increased by 4.3% as against RM152.2bil recorded in August 2023.

The sales value of export-oriented industries, which represented more than two-thirds of total sales, declined by 5.1% in September 2023, mainly attributed to the decrease in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, manufacture of machinery and equipment, as well as the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats.

Nonetheless, the domestic-oriented industries sustained their resilience and grew 8.1% in September 2023 (August 2023: 7.2%).

The continuous expansion was primarily underpinned by the substantial rise in the sales value of the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment; as well as the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, and the manufacture of food products.

On a month-on-month comparison, both export-oriented and domestic-oriented industries posted an increase of 4.4% and 4.1%, respectively.

Mohd Uzir said the manufacturing sector engaged 2.37 million persons in September 2023, an increase of 2.4% as compared to the 2.32 million persons registered a year earlier.

Meanwhile, in the third quarter of 2023, the sales value of the manufacturing sector continued to decelerate for two consecutive quarters, dropping by 2.7% y-o-y as compared to the 1% decline registered in the previous quarter.

For the first nine months of 2023, the sales value hit RM1.34 trillion, up 1.3% as compared to previously. — BK