Millat Tractors Limited, the assembler and manufacturer of tractors in Pakistan, has announced that it will observe non-production days on Friday, citing lower demand.

In a notification to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, the company said “due to reduced demand of tractors, the company will observe Fridays as non-production days from December 16, 2022 till further notice”.

The development comes as a number of companies in recent weeks have announced either a shutdown or reduction in operations in Pakistan, citing lower demand and energy shortage.

Experts attribute the drop in demand to higher inflation, which remains well above 20%, and a depreciating rupee, denting customers' buying power.

Last week, the management of Baluchistan Wheels Limited (BWHL) informed the PSX that it has decided to temporarily close or stop production activity due to depressed demand for autos in the market.

“The company is facing a drop in sales orders from the OEMs [Original Equipment Manufacturers],” said the company, which is engaged in manufacturing and marketing automotive wheel rims for trucks, buses, tractors, cars and mini commercial vehicles.

The board at BWHL decided to stop production from December 12, 2022, till December 23, 2022, it said.

On Wednesday, Kohinoor Spinning Mills Limited (KOSM), a manufacturer and exporter of yarn and cloth, and stitched cloth, informed the PSX that it has decided to temporarily close its production facility, refraining from giving a timeline on the length of the shutdown.

Pakistan’s Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) output witnessed a decline of 3.6% month-on-month in October 2022, and a decline of 7.75% on a year-on-year basis, revealed data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday. Moreover, the latest data suggests that during 4MFY23, LSMI output decreased by 2.9% YoY.

The automobile sector saw a decline of 30.6% in October on a year-on-year basis, revealed the data.

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