KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s manufacturing sector sales value rose 3.7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) at RM164.3 billion in March 2025 as compared to a 4.7 per cent y-o-y growth at RM153.1 billion in February 2025, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth in sales value in March 2025 was mainly driven by the food, beverages and tobacco sub-sector, which recorded a strong growth of 11.8 per cent y-o-y in March 2025 (February 2025: 14.5 per cent).
"This was followed by the electrical and electronics products and non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products sub-sectors at 7.4 per cent (February 2025: 7.8 per cent) and 4.0 per cent (February 2025: 4.4 per cent), respectively,” he said in the department’s Monthly Manufacturing Statistics for March 2025 released today.
He said the sales value of export-oriented industries, representing 70.9 per cent of total sales, expanded by 4.6 per cent y-o-y in March 2025 (February 2025: 5.8 per cent).
"Furthermore, the manufacture of computer, electronics and optical products also rose by 8.0 per cent (February 2025: 7.8 per cent), while the manufacture of rubber products grew by 7.5 per cent (February 2025: 8.4 per cent),” he added.
Similarly, Mohd Uzir said the domestic-oriented industries grew by 1.8 per cent y-o-y in March 2025, after registering a y-o-y increase of 2.3 per cent in February 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, he said both export and domestic-oriented industries rebounded by 8.6 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively.
Commenting on the number of employees, Mohd Uzir said there are 2.39 million persons engaged in the manufacturing sector during March 2025, a 1.1 per cent y-o-y rise (February 2025: 1.2 per cent).
On a month-on-month basis, the number of employees in this sector decreased by 0.2 per cent.
He said the salaries and wages paid in the manufacturing sector also posted a y-o-y increase of 1.8 per cent (February 2025: 2.0 per cent), amounting to RM8.4 billion in March 2025, while a month-on-month comparison showed a 0.4 per cent drop.
"Subsequently, the sales value per employee went up to RM68,805 (2.6 per cent), while the average salaries & wages per employee was RM3,508, rose by 0.7 per cent year-on-year,” he said.
For the manufacturing sector's performance in the first quarter of 2025, the sales value was registered at RM475.6 billion, a 4.0 per cent rise, compared to the same period of 2024 (4Q 2024: 4.4 per cent).
The number of employees was up by 1.1 per cent to 2.39 million persons, while salaries and wages increased by 1.8 per cent to RM25.3 billion, with the sales value per employee standing at RM199,108, a 2.9 per cent growth. - Bernama
