KUALA LUMPUR (May 10): Malaysia’s industrial output rose at a faster-than-expected pace in March from a year earlier with the manufacturing sector leading broad gains, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said on Friday.

The industrial production index — which measures output from factories, mines, and power plants — climbed 2.4% in March compared to the same month in 2023. That was better than the median 1.9% increase predicted in a Bloomberg survey but slower than February’s 3.1% year-on-year growth.

On a month-on-month basis, the index rebounded 7.5% in March from February’s decline of 6.3%.

The latest reading dovetails with modest improvement in factory output in major exporters China, South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan over the same month. However, industrial production fell in Singapore while that of the US, Japan, and Thailand declined further in March.

Growth of Malaysia’s key manufacturing sector picked up slightly to 1.3% from 1.2% year-on-year rise in February. Electricity generation climbed 7.8% in March from a year earlier, slower than February’s 10.9% surge, while mining was up 4.9% compared to February’s 8.1% year-on-year increase.

Domestic-oriented industries expanded 3.1% in March against 4.1% gain in February, mainly driven by fabricated metal products. Exports industries however rebounded to 0.5% in March from February’s 0.2% contraction thanks to computer, electronics and optical products.

Manufacturing sales, meanwhile, rose on an annual basis for the third consecutive month, rising 1.4% to RM158.4 billion in March compared to February’s 0.7% year-on-year gain, DOSM said in a separate statement.

The rise in March was primarily driven by the non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products which advanced 9.6%, and supported by wood, furniture, paper products and printing, it noted.