The country’s factory output grew at a faster rate in August, lifted by the recovery of food and electronics sectors, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show.
The PSA said the volume of production index (VoPI) for manufacturing registered a year-on-year increase of 8.5 percent in August 2023, which was faster than the annual growth rate of 4.9 percent in July. In August 2022, VoPI went up 4.6 percent.
It said “the higher annual growth rate was mainly brought about by the annual increases in the same top three industry divisions that contributed to the higher annual rate of VaPI [value of producton index] during the period.”
These were the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, whose annual decline eased to 5.2 percent from 17.0 percent in July; manufacture of food products, with 0.7 percent annual increase from 3.4 percent annual decline in the previous month; and manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, with 48.0 percent annual increment from 35.6 percent growth.
Results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) showed that of the remaining 19 industry divisions, seven registered year-on-year increases in August while 12 posted annual declines. The highest annual drop was observed in the manufacture of furniture at 31.9 percent.
The PSA said the growth of food production was led by the double-digit increase in the manufacture of prepared animal feeds industry group at 28.6 percent, faster than 0.4 percent in the previous month.
Meanwhile, the value of production index (VaPI) for manufacturing rose 9.1 percent in August, faster than 4.9 percent in July. In August 2022, VaPI recorded a double-digit annual increment of 12.3 percent.
“The expansion in the annual growth of the VaPI in August 2023 was mainly attributed by the slower annual decrease in the index of manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products industry division with 2.9 percent annual decline in August 2023 from a double-digit annual drop of 16.0 percent in the previous month,” the PSA said.
The manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products contributed 37.4 percent to the annual uptrend of VaPI for the manufacturing section in August.
The volume of net sales index (VoNSI) registered a slower year-on-year decline of 1.7 percent in August, compared to July’s 4.4-percent contraction. This caused the value of net sales index (VaNSI) to decreased 1.2 percent in August, compared with its annual drop of 4.3 percent in July.
The average capacity utilization rate for manufacturing improved to 73.9 percent in August from 73.6 percent in July, with all industry divisions reporting capacity utilization rates of more than 50 percent.
The top three industry divisions in terms of reported capacity utilization rate were manufacture of machinery and equipment except electrical (80.3 percent), manufacture of rubber and plastic products (79.5 percent) and manufacture of transport equipment (79.3 percent).
