ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) sector grew 3.03% year-on-year in July 2026, according to provisional data released Wednesday by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
The Quantum Index of Manufacturing stood at 119.13 points in July, up from 115.62 points in the same month last year. On a month-on-month basis, LSM output rose 9.51%, with the QIM climbing from 108.78 points in June to 119.13 points in July.
The PBS attributed the growth mainly to strong performances in the automobile, cotton yarn, garments and petroleum products sectors. Automobiles led the expansion, registering growth of 57.01% in July and 57.77% during the July 2026-27 period.
Other sectors posting gains during the period included other transport equipment at 40.22%, tobacco industries at 35.82%, furniture at 22.69%, wearing apparel at 22.03%, fabricated metal at 13.55%, electric equipment at 7.88%, non-metallic mineral products at 6.52%, computer, electronics and optical products at 5.40%, wood products at 2.82%, rubber products at 1.75%, coke and petroleum products at 1.34% and leather products at 0.73%.
Several sectors recorded declines on a year-on-year basis, including textiles at 0.45%, pharmaceuticals at 1.24%, food products at 0.84%, chemical products at 0.25%, paper and board products at 0.11%, iron and steel products at 0.47%, beverages at 0.45%, other manufacturing (football) at 0.22% and machinery and equipment at 0.03%.
On a year-on-year basis, tobacco posted growth of 0.55%, wearing apparel 3.87%, leather products 0.01%, coke and petroleum products 0.11%, non-metallic mineral products 0.27%, fabricated metal 0.04%, electrical equipment 0.21%, automobiles 1.91%, other transport equipment 0.27% and furniture products 0.18%. Growth in wood products and computer, electronics and optical products remained unchanged.
