KUALA LUMPUR (June 9): Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) contracted by 3.3% in April 2023, weighed down by all sectors namely mining, manufacturing and electricity, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
The IPI has turned downward to -3.3% in April 2023 versus 3.2% in the preceding month due to contraction in all sectors, namely mining with 4.9% versus 0.8% in March 2023, and electricity with 2% against 0.4% in the preceding month, it said.
“IPI has declined by 10.8% after a growth of 8.4% in March 2023,” DOSM said, adding that the mining sector slowed down by 4.9% in April 2023.
This was weighed down by a continuous downturn in the natural gas index by 7.8% and a marginal drop of 0.9% in the crude oil and condensate index.
“As compared to March 2023, the mining index posted a double-digit decline of 10.7%, as compared to an increase of 8.5% recorded in March 2023,” said DOSM.
The department saw electricity output drop by 2% in April 2023, after recording slight growth of 4% in March 2023.
On a month-on-month (m-o-m) comparison, the electricity index was weakened by 4.8%, as against a positive growth of 15.1% recorded in the preceding month, it added.
For the first four months of 2023, the IPI moderated to 1.3% as compared to the same period, DOSM said.
“During the period, the manufacturing and mining indices increased by 1.8% and 0.3% respectively, while the electricity index went down by 1.2%,” it added.
In terms of the manufacturing sector, DOSM said it deteriorated by 3% in April 2023 — the first contraction since July 2021.
It was influenced by the decline of 3.5% in export-oriented industries, as compared to 3.6% in March 2023.
“In addition, the contraction of export-oriented industries in April 2023 was the first recorded in 34 months, attributable to the decline in the manufacture of rubber products by 16.5%; and the manufacture of computers, electronics & optical products, which posted a negative 1.8%,” it said.
DOSM added that domestic-oriented industries recorded a fall of 2.1%, attributed to the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi trailers (-15.5%), manufacture of beverages (-5.5%), and manufacture of food processing products (-4.9%).
“A m-o-m comparison, the manufacturing sector shrank by 11.4% after registering 7.8% in March 2023,” the department said.