KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The capacity utilization of the manufacturing industry in Malaysia reached 80.8 percent in the first quarter, an improvement of 1 percentage point from the 79.8 percent recorded a year ago, official data showed Tuesday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that this higher capacity rate resulted in a 2.1 percent year-on-year increase in the industrial production index for the manufacturing industry during the quarter.
According to the DOSM, almost all sub-sectors posted an increase in capacity utilization, particularly in the non-metallic mineral products, basic metal & fabricated metal products sub-sector, and wood products, furniture, paper products & printing sub-sector, which increased by 4.4 percentage points to 83.3 percent and 79.6 percent, respectively.
On a quarter-on-quarter comparison, the capacity utilization of the manufacturing industry expanded by 0.9 percentage points from the 79.9 percent registered in the previous quarter. ■
