Manufacturing Sector Sale Decelerates To 3.7% In March, T

Malaysia’s manufacturing sector reported a 3.7% year-on-year increase in sales value for March 2025, reaching RM164.3 billion, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). This marks a slight deceleration from the 4.7% growth recorded in February 2025.

The increase was largely driven by strong performances in the Food, Beverages & Tobacco sub-sector, which surged by 11.8%, followed by the Electrical & Electronics Products (7.4%) and Non-metallic Mineral Products, Basic Metal & Fabricated Metal Products (4.0%).

On a month-on-month basis, the sector posted a robust 7.3% rise in sales value compared to RM153.1 billion in February.

Export-oriented industries — which make up nearly 71% of total manufacturing sales — grew by 4.6% in March. Key contributors included the Manufacture of Vegetable & Animal Oils & Fats, which soared by 14.7%, Computer, Electronics & Optical Products (8.0%), and Rubber Products (7.5%).

Domestic-oriented industries saw a modest 1.8% growth, down from 2.3% in February. The growth was mainly supported by the Manufacture of Food Processing Products (9.4%), Fabricated Metal Products excluding machinery and equipment (3.2%), and Basic Metals (5.7%). Both export and domestic markets showed healthy rebounds on a month-to-month basis, rising by 8.6% and 4.2%, respectively.

In terms of employment, the sector engaged 2.39 million workers in March 2025 — a 1.1% increase from the previous year. Employment growth was led by the Food, Beverages & Tobacco (2.1%), Non-metallic Mineral & Metal Products (1.6%), and Electrical & Electronics (1.2%) segments. However, the sector saw a slight decline of 0.2% in employment compared to February.

Salaries and wages in the sector totaled RM8.4 billion, up 1.8% year-on-year, though they fell slightly by 0.4% compared to the previous month. The average salary per employee rose 0.7% to RM3,508, while sales value per employee increased 2.6% to RM68,805.

For the first quarter of 2025, the manufacturing sector recorded total sales of RM475.6 billion — a 4.0% increase from the same period in 2024. The quarterly figures also showed a 1.1% uptick in employment and a 1.8% increase in total salaries and wages, with productivity (sales per employee) improving by 2.9% to RM199,108.