Ministry of Finance states strong fundamental resilience amid expansive manufacturing
This affirms the fundamental resilience of the national manufacturing sector and the government’s efforts to remain anticipatory towards future risks.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Finance states that the March Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of 50.1, which is expansive although moderated compared to February’s 53.8, indicates strong fundamental resilience amid increasing global dynamics.
“Indonesia’s manufacturing sector remains expansive in March 2026, supported by domestic demand and the maintained performance of key trading partners,” said the Director General of Economic and Fiscal Strategy at the Ministry of Finance, Febrio Kacaribu, in a written statement in Jakarta on Wednesday.
According to Febrio, the moderation is influenced by a decline in new orders and exports, as well as rising input costs due to increased energy prices and global supply chain disruptions, including delays in raw material deliveries that are holding back production activities.
However, fundamentally, the domestic manufacturing industry remains intact, supported by stable domestic demand and business optimism towards future prospects.
“This affirms the fundamental resilience of the national manufacturing sector and the government’s efforts to remain anticipatory towards future risks,” Febrio stated.
Business sentiment remains maintained, supported by expectations of global demand reflected in the manufacturing PMI levels of trading partner countries that are still in the expansive zone, as well as strong domestic demand.
Several of Indonesia’s key trading partners show expansive manufacturing PMI levels, such as Vietnam (51.2), the Philippines (51.3), Thailand (54.1), India (53.8), and the United States (52.4), along with improvements in the European region with the Eurozone returning to expansive (51.4), serving as a positive signal for the prospects of national manufacturing exports.
In the automotive sector, car sales grew high by 12.2 percent (year-on-year) and motorcycle sales continue to grow positively.
Real sector activities also remain strong, as reflected in cement sales growth of 5.3 percent and positive electricity consumption in the business and industry sectors.
Public optimism remains strong, as reflected in the February Consumer Confidence Index (IKK) at 125.2. This is supported by the Current Economic Condition Index (IKE) which increased to 115.9 from 115.1 in the previous month, as well as the Consumer Expectations Index (IEK) which remains at an optimistic level of 134.4.