KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Industrial Production Index (IPI) rose by 5.9 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in January 2026, supported mainly by stronger performance in the manufacturing sector, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the IPI expanded 5.9 per cent in January after registering a 4.8 per cent growth in the previous month.
"This was supported by the manufacturing sector, which increased by 7.3 percent (December 2025: 6.7 per cent), coupled with a marginal increase of 0.1 per cent in the mining sector production (December 2025: -2.5 per cent). Additionally, the electricity output grew by 6.3 per cent in January (December 2025: 3.8 per cent).
"In terms of month-on-month, the IPI rose slightly by 0.7 per cent from 0.2 per cent registered in December 2025," he said in a statement following the release of the IPI for January.
Mohd Uzir said the output of export-oriented industries, which accounted for two-thirds of the manufacturing sector, expanded 7.8 per cent in January 2026, up from 7.5 per cent in the previous month.
The growth was supported mainly by the manufacture of computers, electronics, and optical products, and followed by the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats, which increased by 17.2 per cent and 20.7 per cent, respectively. "The y-o-y expansion mirrored the country's better export performance, which increased by 19.6 per cent in January 2026," he said.
He added that compared with December 2025, export-oriented industries continued to register a negative growth of 0.7 per cent after recording a negative 0.1 per cent growth in the previous month.
Meanwhile, domestic-oriented industries expanded 6.4 per cent after registering a growth of 5.2 per cent in December 2025. "This growth was primarily led by the manufacture of food processing products, which grew by 8.9 per cent, followed by an increase in the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment at 8.5 per cent," said Mohd Uzir.
In comparison with the preceding month, domestic-oriented industries increased by 2.4 per cent compared with the positive growth of 1.0 per cent recorded in December 2025.
Elaborating further, he said the mining sector recorded a turnaround with production, rising 0.1 per cent in January 2026 compared with minus 2.5 per cent previously. This was supported by the crude oil and condensate index, which grew at 3.8 per cent (December 2025: 6.4 per cent).
Meanwhile, the natural gas output remained in decline, albeit with a smaller negative of 2.1 per cent (December 2025: -7.9 per cent). On a month-on-month basis, the mining index rose 2.1 per cent against a contraction of 0.9 per cent recorded in December 2025.
Mohd Uzir said electricity generation also expanded 6.3 per cent y-o-y in January 2026 after recording a 3.8 per cent increase in the preceding month. "In comparison with December 2025, the electricity index rose marginally by 0.2 per cent after registering a positive 2.2 per cent in the previous month," he added.
Globally, the IPI for several countries increased, including China (5.2 per cent), the United States (2.3 per cent), South Korea (7.1 per cent), Singapore (16.6 per cent), Vietnam (21.5 per cent), and Taiwan (28.5 per cent).
Thailand (1.5 per cent) and Japan (2.3 per cent) also recorded increases, albeit with smaller positive growth during the month. - Bernama
