Overview
- Provisional Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data show the manufacturing index at 123.03 in March 2026, up 11.09% year over year but down 5.19% from February, with July–March growth at 6.48%.
- Automakers led the surge, posting roughly 61% year-on-year growth in March as production recovered from last year’s slump.
- Sugar output jumped about 385% from a year earlier in March, pushing cumulative production to roughly 7.5 million tons.
- Food, powered by the sugar crush, delivered nearly three-fourths of total manufacturing growth in March.
- Heavy, construction-linked lines stayed weak, with iron and steel down 11.46%, cement down 6.64%, and fertiliser down 7.55%, even as 15 of 22 sub-sectors expanded and cheaper energy helped cut factory power costs.