The capacity utilization of manufacturing industry in the second quarter reduced by 0.8 percentage points as compared to 79 percent a year ago, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement.
The figure marked the second decline this year following the decreases recorded in almost all sub-sectors except for the manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products, basic metals and fabricated metal products.
As compared to the previous quarter, the capacity utilization of the manufacturing industry further lowered by negative 1.6 percentage points.
The downturn in the second quarter was reflected by the manufacturing output, indicated by a marginal growth of 0.1 percent in the industrial production index.
Several factors contributed to the lower capacity utilization in the second quarter, particularly low demand, insufficient supply of materials, and repair and maintenance of machinery and equipment.
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