• IPI advanced by 4.6% yoy in April

• The expansion of IPI was supported by manufacturing and electricity sectors

• Manufacturing sales maintained double digits growth in April

• Manufacturing sales increased by 13.2% yoy; up 2.3% mom in April

• Productivity went up by 10.4% yoy in April

• Global industrial production under pressure in April  Industrial production to expand in an uncertain external environment

IPI advanced by 4.6% yoy in April

Malaysia’s industrial production index (IPI) advanced by 4.6% yoy in April, its eighth straight month of expansion and the second strongest growth in 4 months. The expansion in IPI was driven by a steady improvement in manufacturing (+6.2%) and electricity (+1.5%) components though dampened by mining (-0.1%).

On a monthly basis, it slipped by 4.8% however, no thanks to broad contraction across all components. The m-o-m contraction was caused by prolonged supply chain disruption amid Eastern Europe war, aggravated by China’s COVID-19 lockdowns measure, with negative growth seen in mining (-5.3%), manufacturing (- 4.9%), and electricity index (-2.2%) components. In seasonally adjusted terms, IPI in April 2022 grew by 0.03%. On the back of sustained operational activities, manufacturing output expanded by 1.9% though mining and electricity contracted by 0.3% and 1.1%, respectively.

The IPI for January to April 2022 recorded an average growth of 4.5% yoy driven by +6.3% in manufacturing and +3.1% in electricity though offset by a decline of 1.4% in mining.

Source: BIMB Securities Research - 13 Jun 2022