Jakarta. The government announced Monday that the Indonesian manufacturing industry had become slightly more upbeat about the country’s industrial conditions as of September, although companies were receiving fewer new orders compared to the previous month.

The Industry Ministry reported that its monthly industrial confidence index stood at 52.48 in the September survey. The index, which runs on a 0-100 scale, gauges the Indonesian manufacturing sector’s confidence in the economy by asking businesses how many new orders they have booked that month, among other things.

A reading of over 50 means expansion in the Indonesian manufacturing sector, while anything below that indicates a contracting industry condition. But the September growth is far from significant compared to the 52.40 index posted in August, according to the ministry’s spokesman Febri Hendri Antoni Arief.

“The Indonesian manufacturing industry remains expansive. But compared to August’s reading, the industrial confidence index was quite stagnant in September. There was only a 0.08 points difference,” Febri told a press conference on Monday.

New orders became the only indicator to face a decline in the September report. Companies reported to have received fewer new orders this month. The average new order indicator had dropped from 54.66 points in August to 51.95 the following month. Aside from new orders, the industrial confidence index also factors in other indicators, namely production and inventories. 

The respondents admitted to having produced more goods this month. The average production indicator bounced back to the expansive level of 51.12 after a weak 46.54 in August. The ministry announced expansive stocks of goods across the manufacturing sector as the said indicator grew slightly from 55.54 to 55.85 points in September. 

Non-metallic minerals and electrical equipment became the sub-sectors that recorded the highest industrial confidence indexes in September, according to Febri. Electronic goods and computer industries had contracted in the September survey. Febri attributed the pessimism to the flood of imported electronics that had entered the country -- be it through legal and illegal means. 

The survey revealed that not much has changed about the businesses’ perceptions towards the industry conditions in the next 6 months. About 71.5 percent of the business respondents said they were optimistic about future industry conditions, but this marked a lower percentage compared to 71.6 percent in the August reading. The September survey results showed that 77.4 percent of the respondents reported growing and stable business activities.