KUALA LUMPUR: The headline IHS Markit Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance, fell to 50.5 in January from 52.8 in December 2021.
IHS Markit chief business economist Chris Williamson said Malaysia’s manufacturers reported a new downturn in January as the Omicron variant created further headwinds for manufacturers around the world, dampening demand and exacerbating existing, unprecedented supply chain delays.
However, the downturn looks to be only mild in comparison to previous waves of the pandemic and would likely be short-lived. he added.
"In Malaysia, manufacturers have in fact grown increasingly optimistic that the longer-term outlook has brightened, with business expectations for the year ahead rising to the highest since April and almost at the highest seen since the pandemic began,” Williamson said in a statement today.
IHS Markit said businesses signalled that the Malaysian manufacturing sector saw demand conditions easing at the start of 2022 as price and supply pressures hindered output and new orders.
It added that renewed production and order book declines were reported for the first time since September as firms commented that sustained raw material shortages and rising prices had hampered production capacity and client confidence.
That said, firms remained optimistic that the downturn would be short-lived, as employment levels stabilised following a slight reduction in December and businesses grew increasingly confident that output would increase over the coming 12 months, with sentiment reaching the highest since April last year, said IHS Markit.
It noted that both output volumes and new order inflows were scaled back in January and despite modest reductions, they marked the first such declines seen for four months.
IHS Markit said manufacturers commonly reported that raw material shortages and rising prices had dampened client demand and production capacity.
Meanwhile, foreign demand for Malaysian manufactured goods also moderated, but at a softer pace than total new orders as some panellists reported particular pockets of demand in the US. The reduction in new export orders was only mild, though was the eighth in nine months.
Despite ongoing international restrictions, IHS Markit said manufacturers were increasingly confident that output would rise over the coming year, citing hopes that the end of the pandemic would encourage a full easing of restrictions and trigger a broad recovery in market demand.
As a result, the degree of optimism reached the highest since April 2021, it added. - Bernama
IHS Markit chief business economist Chris Williamson said Malaysia’s manufacturers reported a new downturn in January as the Omicron variant created further headwinds for manufacturers around the world, dampening demand and exacerbating existing, unprecedented supply chain delays.
However, the downturn looks to be only mild in comparison to previous waves of the pandemic and would likely be short-lived. he added.
"In Malaysia, manufacturers have in fact grown increasingly optimistic that the longer-term outlook has brightened, with business expectations for the year ahead rising to the highest since April and almost at the highest seen since the pandemic began,” Williamson said in a statement today.
IHS Markit said businesses signalled that the Malaysian manufacturing sector saw demand conditions easing at the start of 2022 as price and supply pressures hindered output and new orders.
It added that renewed production and order book declines were reported for the first time since September as firms commented that sustained raw material shortages and rising prices had hampered production capacity and client confidence.
That said, firms remained optimistic that the downturn would be short-lived, as employment levels stabilised following a slight reduction in December and businesses grew increasingly confident that output would increase over the coming 12 months, with sentiment reaching the highest since April last year, said IHS Markit.
It noted that both output volumes and new order inflows were scaled back in January and despite modest reductions, they marked the first such declines seen for four months.
IHS Markit said manufacturers commonly reported that raw material shortages and rising prices had dampened client demand and production capacity.
Meanwhile, foreign demand for Malaysian manufactured goods also moderated, but at a softer pace than total new orders as some panellists reported particular pockets of demand in the US. The reduction in new export orders was only mild, though was the eighth in nine months.
Despite ongoing international restrictions, IHS Markit said manufacturers were increasingly confident that output would rise over the coming year, citing hopes that the end of the pandemic would encourage a full easing of restrictions and trigger a broad recovery in market demand.
As a result, the degree of optimism reached the highest since April 2021, it added. - Bernama
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