MALAYSIA’S manufacturing sector recorded a 2.4 per cent year-on-year increase in sales, reaching RM158.7 billion in May 2025, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the expansion was primarily fuelled by the food, beverage and tobacco subsector, which maintained strong double-digit growth of 13.0 per cent in May, up from 10.8 per cent in April.
“The growth was also supported by the electrical and electronics equipment subsector, and the non-metallic mineral products, basic metals and fabricated metal products subsector, which recorded increases of 5.0 per cent (April: 9.6 per cent) and 3.7 per cent (April: 4.6 per cent), respectively,” he said in the Monthly Manufacturing Statistics report released on Friday.
Despite the annual rise, monthly manufacturing sales dipped by 1.1 per cent in May to RM158.7 billion from RM160.4 billion in April.
Export-oriented industries, which made up 71.1 per cent of total manufacturing sales, grew by 2.7 per cent year-on-year in May (April: 5.1 per cent), driven mainly by a 15.9 per cent rise in the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats (April: 12.2 per cent).
The manufacture of computers, electronics and optical products rose by 4.9 per cent (April: 10.2 per cent), while machinery and equipment not elsewhere classified grew by 7.7 per cent (April: 9.5 per cent).
Month-on-month, export-oriented industries registered a modest rebound of 0.1 per cent (April: -3.3 per cent).
Domestic-oriented industries expanded by 1.9 per cent year-on-year in May (April: 3.6 per cent), underpinned by solid growth in processed food manufacturing (10.5 per cent), basic metals (4.3 per cent), and fabricated metal products excluding machinery and equipment (3.5 per cent). However, they declined by 3.9 per cent on a monthly basis.
Employment in the manufacturing sector stood at 2.40 million in May 2025, marking a 0.9 per cent increase compared to the same month last year (April: 1.2 per cent).
“This growth was mainly driven by the food, beverage and tobacco subsector (1.8 per cent); non-metallic mineral products, basic metals and fabricated metal products (1.4 per cent); and electrical and electronic equipment (1.1 per cent),” DOSM stated.
Compared to April, the total workforce edged down slightly by 0.1 per cent.
Wages and salaries paid in the sector rose by 1.6 per cent year-on-year to RM8.3 billion (April: 2.4 per cent), while month-on-month growth stood at 0.2 per cent.
Sales value per employee rose 1.6 per cent to RM66,163, with average wages per employee increasing by 0.7 per cent to RM3,470.
For the January–May 2025 period, manufacturing sales totalled RM794.7 billion, up 3.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2024 (3.3 per cent).
Employment rose by 0.9 per cent to 2.40 million, while cumulative wages and salaries increased 1.9 per cent to RM41.9 billion. Sales per employee amounted to RM331,327, a 2.9 per cent increase. - July 11, 2025
