large scale manufacturing LSM expanded by 68% in April

Industrial output continued with the upward trend for the third consecutive month as Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) increased by a robust 68.07 per cent in April, reflecting phenomenal growth in industrial output, according to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Saturday.The raise in April is in stark contrast compared to the period last year when the Covid-19 lockdown — which came into effect on March 23 — led to a startling slump in production activities.On a month-on-month basis, the big industry production contracted by 6.99pc. LSM expansion had slowed in January after posting a double-digit growth in December and November on the back of higher automobile and cement production and one-time sugar output, which reflects the revival of industrialisation.Since February, LSM has rebounded and posted growth in the following months.During the first 10 months of the current fiscal year (10MFY21), LSM grew by 12.84pc. Since July 2020, LSM has rebounded after suffering months of a downturn on account of the Covid-19 pandemic situation mainly in the automobile, construction, textile, food, chemicals, non-metallic mineral products and pharmaceutical sectors. The uptick during the 10MFY21 reflects a revival in economic activities.