KUALA LUMPUR: The sales value of the manufacturing sector slipped by 2.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM155 billion in November 2023, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) reported today.
Chief statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the decrease was primarily due to the substantial drop in the petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products sub-sector by 10.8 per cent (October 2023: -9.5 per cent); and the electrical and electronics products sub-sector which fell by 5.3 per cent (October 2023: -2.7 per cent).
"As compared to the preceding month, the sales value fell by 1.1 per cent as against RM156.7 billion recorded in October 2023 (-0.7 per cent),” he said in a statement today.
He said that the sales value of export-oriented industries, which accounted for more than two-thirds of total sales, posted a wider decline of 6.9 per cent in November 2023 as compared to the negative 5.2 per cent registered in October 2023.
The chief statistician said that the decline was predominantly attributable to the decrease in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products at negative 10.0 per cent; followed by the manufacture of computer, electronics and optical products (-6.6 per cent); and the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats (-3.8 per cent).
Nonetheless, Mohd Uzir said the domestic-oriented industries sustained the positive momentum by recording 8.8 per cent in November 2023 as compared to 9.7 per cent in October 2023.
He said the expansion was fueled primarily by the strong growth in the manufacture of food products by 11.4 per cent; the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (11.3 per cent); and the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment (11.3 per cent).
"On a month-on-month (m-o-m) comparison, he said that export-oriented industries dropped by 3.6 per cent while domestic-oriented industries expanded by 5.3 per cent,” he said.
Manufacturing sector salaries rose by 3.3 per cent
Meanwhile, Mohd Uzir said the manufacturing sector engaged 2.38 million persons in November 2023, an increase of 2.1 per cent as compared to the 2.33 million persons registered in November 2022.
"The increment was mainly attributable to the rise in the number of employees in the food, beverages and tobacco (6.9 per cent); non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products (2.3 per cent); and electrical and electronic products (0.7 per cent) sub-sectors,” he said.
However, on a m-o-m basis, he said the number of employees in the manufacturing sector declined slightly by 0.04 per cent.
In tandem with the addition in the number of employees, Mohd Uzir said the salaries and wages paid in the manufacturing sector rose by 3.3 per cent y-o-y, totalling RM8.1 billion in November 2023 and on a m-o-m comparison, it posted a marginal growth of 0.04 per cent as against 0.1 per cent registered in October 2023.
"Furthermore, the sales value per employee decreased by 4.7 per cent to record RM65,193 while the average salaries and wages per employee in November 2023 was RM3,428, which rose by 1.1 per cent y-o-y,” he said.
For the first eleven months of 2023, Mohd Uzir said the sales value of the manufacturing sector attained RM1.65 trillion, which grew marginally by 0.6 per cent as compared to the same period in the preceding year (January - November 2022: 16.6 per cent).
"During this period, the number of employees increased by 2.1 per cent, to record a total of 2.38 million persons while salaries and wages advanced by 3.6 per cent, amounting to RM89.0 billion. Meanwhile, the sales value per employee declined by 1.8 per cent, amounting to RM701,986,” he said. - Bernama
