PUTRAJAYA: The sales value of the manufacturing sector in 2024 reached RM1.9 trillion, surging 4.6% (2023: 0.2%), while the sales in December 2024 amounted to RM158.4 billion (5.7%).
Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth of sales value in the manufacturing sector was primarily supported by the food, beverages & tobacco sub-sector which remained to record double-digit growth at 14.6% in December 2024 (November 2024: 12.3%).
Meanwhile, he added electrical & electronics products and non-metallic mineral products, basic metal & fabricated metal products sub-sectors also made contributions to the manufacturing sector’s sales growth, registering increases of 8.7% (November 2024: 8.6%) and 3.2% (November 2024: 2.7%), respectively.
Comparison with the preceding month, he said the sales value shrank by 2.2% as against RM162 billion recorded in November 2024.
The sales value of export-oriented industries, representing 70.1% of total sales further expanded to 7.1% in December 2024 (November 2024: 6.1%). The expansion was predominantly attributable to the increase in the manufacture of computer, electronics & optical products at 9.4%; followed by manufacture of vegetable & animal oils & fats (17%); and manufacture of rubber products (10.7%) industries.
Similarly, the domestic-oriented industries also improved by 2.5% in December 2024 after registering 0.8% increase in November 2024. The increase was mainly contributed by a rise in the manufacture of food processing products which soared to 11.2% (November 2024: 8.7%); manufacture of fabricated metal products industry except machinery & equipment (4.8%); and the manufacture of beverages (16.3%) industries.
On a month-on-month basis, both export and domestic-oriented industries fell by 3% and 0.3% , respectively.
Commenting on the number of employees, Mohd Uzir said, “There are 2.4 million persons engaged in this sector as at December 2024, with a steady growth rate of 1% for two consecutive months. The addition was mainly driven by food, beverages & tobacco (2.3%); non-metallic mineral products, basic metal & fabricated metal products (1.3%); and wood, furniture, paper products & printing (0.9%) sub-sectors. On a month-on-month basis, the number of employees in this sector declined 0.1%.”
On the same note, he added that salaries & wages paid in the manufacturing sector also posted an increase of 1.7%, amounting to RM8.9 billion in December 2024.
Comparison by month-on-month, he said the salaries & wages paid increased by 7.1%. Subsequently, he added the sales value per employee went up to RM66,027 (4.6%), while the average salaries & wages per employee in December 2024 was RM3,706, up by 0.6% year-on-year.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the sales value in the manufacturing sector grew by 4.4% year-on-year, achieving RM481.8 billion (Q3’24: RM483.2 billion, 6.5%).