According to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Large Scale manufacturing during the first three months of 2017 (July, August, and September) increased by 8.36%. LSM index went up from 122.87 in July – Sept, 2016 to 133.15 in 2017.
Major contribution to the index was lent by Ministry of Industries sources, which was up by 6.44% during the 1Q ’17.
Table 1
July – September Indices
S. No.
Source
Indices for July – September
% Change
YOY Impact
2017-18
2016-17
1
OCAC
123.01
108.15
3.00
0.93
2
Ministry of Industries
123.30
112.07
10.02
6.44
3
Provincial BOS
168.46
162.90
3.41
0.99
4
Over All
133.15
122.87
–
8.36
However, month on month the index fell by 7.83% going down from 137.84 in August, 2017 to 127.05 points in September, 2017.
Automobile Sector showed most growth during the 1Q ’17 as production and sales have picked up by 2.07% in the wake of rising import costs on knocked down vehicles and easier access to consumer finance. Followed by Autos, Iron & Steel sector showed a positive growth in the first quarter of 2017.
Table 2
Sector Performance – Advance
Manufacturing Items
Weight
(%) Change
YOY Growth Impact
Sep 2017
July – Sep 2017-18
Monthly
Cumulative
Textile
20.915
0.88
0.68
0.26
0.21
Food, Beverages & Tobacco
12.370
3.67
10.12
0.53
1.48
Coke & Petroleum Products
5.514
8.5
13.74
0.59
0.93
Non Metallic Mineral Products
5.364
-1.38
12.35
-0.16
1.37
Automobiles
4.613
26.53
29.43
1.84
2.07
Paper & Board
2.314
6.06
9.80
0.22
0.35
The only sector to show a decline in the 1Q ’17 was Fertilizers, which fell by 0.41% in first three months of 2017. The Fertilizer sector also showed a production decline of 1.18% month on month during September.