PETALING JAYA: The impact of the West Asia crisis on Malaysian manufacturing has reached a critical level, as a survey showed that the conflict is no longer affecting only freight rates and logistics costs but has now spread across the industry’s value chain, affecting raw material availability, order volumes, cash flow, investment decisions and employment.
According to a survey carried out by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM), the crisis, which began as a disruption in freight and logistics costs, has already impacted domestic manufacturing, reducing production, weakening order books, straining company finances and putting jobs at risk.
The FMM survey, the second after the first survey carried out in April, showed 72% of 225 respondents reported that their overall operating conditions have worsened since early last month, with 22% describing the deterioration as significant.
Only 5% reported some improvement, mainly companies that had managed to secure alternative supply sources. The remaining 20% reported no change, indicating companies continue to operate under the same severe pressures highlighted in the earlier survey, rather than any stabilisation in conditions.
“The survey findings show that conditions across the manufacturing sector have continued to deteriorate and that further urgent action is needed from the government,“ FMM president Jacob Lee Chor Kok said.
The FMM survey further showed that 70% of domestic manufacturing respondents reported that their raw material supply situation has worsened since early April. Some 20% described the deterioration as significant.
The most widely affected categories are resins and polymers, petrochemical feedstocks including naphtha and benzene, industrial chemicals and solvents, metals and alloys and packaging materials.
These are core production inputs with no readily available substitutes. The inventory position is a top priority.
About 40% of respondents hold only one to two months of their most critical affected materials, 29% hold between two and three weeks and 6% hold less than two weeks.
The survey also showed that China remains the primary alternative sourcing destination for domestic manufacturers, cited by 72% of respondents, while 40% were exploring domestic suppliers in Malaysia. India and Thailand were each cited by 16%.
Even with alternatives being actively pursued, the transition is constrained.
Nearly half, or 48%, cited quality and specification mismatches as the main obstacle.
Another 40% cited customer approval requirements as a barrier to switching suppliers, while 32% said lengthy qualification processes were slowing progress.
Only 13% of respondents said they had fully secured an operational alternative supplier. Another 18% identified alternatives but said higher costs made them commercially unviable, while 13% said they had yet to find a viable replacement despite active efforts.
The FMM survey showed freight and logistics costs remained significantly elevated, with 87% of respondents reporting higher freight costs than before Feb 28.
About 50% reported increases of 20% to 50% above their pre-conflict baseline, while 86% have experienced additional transit times due to vessel rerouting via the Cape of Good Hope, with routes to Europe now taking 35 to 45 days compared with 25 to 30 days previously. About 12% reported additional delays exceeding 30 days on specific routes, effectively doubling transit times on those lanes.
Of the respondents, 49% reported increased domestic transport costs, making this the single most widely cited logistics problem in the survey, ahead of port congestion, cargo rollovers and container shortages.
Hauliers in key industrial corridors are prioritising higher-paying cargo and declining existing rate contracts. The breakdown in haulage connectivity between Pasir Gudang and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas is specifically cited as a serious bottleneck. The root cause in many cases is diesel quota exhaustion.
“When hauliers exhaust their subsidised diesel allocation, operating costs rise sharply and less profitable routes are abandoned, with the cost falling on the manufacturer who cannot move goods to port on schedule,“ Lee said.
About 37% of respondents reported unregulated port fuel adjustment surcharges imposed by shipping lines, 41% reported cargo rollovers, 30% cited container shortages, 26% quoted shipment cancellations by carriers and 23% pointed to elevated detention and demurrage charges.
The survey also showed that 34% of domestic manufacturers are managing active or unresolved force majeure claims, while 10% have had export cargo returned, abandoned or redirected due to port access restrictions in the Gulf, with commercial losses per company ranging from several hundred thousand US dollars to over US$1 million (RM3.95 million).
FMM is urging the government to immediately implement measures to ease mounting pressure on manufacturers caused by supply chain disruptions and rising operating costs. Among its key proposals are duty and tax exemptions on alternative-origin raw materials, particularly for resins and polymers, petrochemical feedstocks, industrial chemicals, metals and packaging materials.
FMM noted that about 65% of the survey respondents described this as the most urgent measure needed.
Further, it called for additional tax deductions for crisis-related freight costs, including war risk insurance, rerouting charges, and demurrage fees, with 61% of manufacturers supporting the move.
To address rising fuel costs, the federation proposed a targeted industrial fuel subsidy or rebate mechanism for manufacturers that use diesel in production processes, as half of the respondents said they are currently absorbing full market-rate increases without support.
FMM further urged the government to expand diesel quotas for hauliers on key industrial routes, defer planned port tariff hikes for at least 12 months, and require shipping lines to disclose surcharge structures more transparently.
It also called for faster regulatory approvals for alternative raw material sources and wider government-to-government supply arrangements with countries such as Kazakhstan and Canada.
In addition, it proposed temporary wage and employment retention support for affected manufacturers, especially SMEs and export-oriented firms, warning that prolonged cost pressures could eventually force companies to reduce their workforce.