Malaysia manufacturing sales climb 9.1% on electronics surge

The sector expanded 9% year on year.

Manufacturing sector sales in Malaysia climbed 9.1% year on year in July to RM177.3b, according to the latest figures from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The expansion was led by the electrical and electronics products sub-sector, which posted robust growth of 17.8%. Momentum was further supported by the food, beverages and tobacco sub-sector, up 3.9% (June: 2.2%), and a 3.6% rise in petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products. On a month-on-month basis, sales edged up 0.2%, from RM177.0 billion in June.

Export-oriented industries recorded year-on-year sales growth of 9.9% in July, accounting for 72.2% of total manufacturing sales. The performance was anchored by a 19.0% surge in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, whilst the manufacture of machinery and equipment climbed 17.8% (June: 9.9%), and the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products grew 3.3%. Month on month, however, export-oriented sales fell 1.0%.

Domestic-oriented growth eases slightly

Domestic-oriented industries moderated to a 7.2% year-on-year growth. The manufacture of basic metals sustained double-digit expansion of 14.9% (June: 10.6%), whilst food processing products improved to 9.6% (June: 7.0%), and motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers rose 5.0%. Month on month, domestic-oriented sales increased 3.2%.

Employment and wages tick higher

The manufacturing workforce stood at 2.4 million in July, up 1.1% year on year, driven chiefly by growth in food, beverages and tobacco (2.2%), non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products (1.9%, up from 1.6% in June), and electrical and electronics products (1.3%). Employment edged up 0.1% month on month, reversing a 0.2% decline in June.

Salaries and wages paid in the sector rose 2.8% to RM8.55b, though this was down 0.5% from the previous month. Sales value per employee reached RM73,188, an increase of 7.9%, whilst average salaries and wages per employee rose 1.7% to RM3,527.

Seven-month total tops RM1.2t

For the first seven months of 2026, cumulative manufacturing sales reached RM1.20t, up 7.6% on the same period last year (January–July 2025: 3.7%). Employee numbers rose 1.1% to 2.4 million, with salaries and wages paid growing 2.7% to RM60.1b. Sales value per employee for the period stood at RM496,792, an increase of 6.4%.