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The Philippine manufacturing sector continued to contract in both volume and value in December 2020, the 10th consecutive month of decline
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The Volume of Production Index (VoPI) dropped 2.8% in December 2020 while Value of Production Index (VaPI) decreased 5.1%
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For 2020, VoPI contracted by 10.3% while VaPI dropped 13.9%
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The average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector in December 2020 was at 72.8%, down from 75.6% in the previous month
The Philippine manufacturing sector continued to contract in both volume and value in December 2020, representing the 10th consecutive month of decline and leading to double-digit drops for the whole year of 2020.
The Volume of Production Index (VoPI) dropped 2.8% in December 2020, slower than the 8.6% decline in November 2020, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries.
Of the 20 industry groups, positive growths were observed in five industry groups, namely, paper and paper products (26.8%), chemical products (7.5%), electrical machinery (5.7%), food manufacturing (5.4%), and rubber and plastic products (4.9%) in December 2020.
Eight industry groups, however, recorded downturns albeit slower during the period.
For 2020, VoPI contracted by 10.3%, faster than the 8.4% drop in 2019.
The Value of Production Index (VaPI) likewise posted an annual decrement of 5.1% in December 2020 compared with the faster drop of 11.5% in the previous month.
The decline of VaPI in December 2020 was also the lowest decrease since March 2020.
The slower downturn in VaPI was influenced by the increases in the indices of six industry groups. These industries were led by paper and paper products which exhibited a two-digit growth of 13.8%. Contributing further to the narrower decline in December 2020 were the slower annual decreases in the indices of seven industry groups.
For 2020, VaPI contracted by 13.9%, faster than the 6.9% decrease registered in 2019.
Based on responding establishments, the average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector in December 2020 was at 72.8% from 75.6% in the previous month.
Five of the 20 industry groups had at least 80% average capacity utilization rate, which was led by machinery except electrical (88.3%), textiles (86.2%), and non-metallic mineral products (82.7%). About 16% of responding establishments operated at full capacity.
The proportion of establishments that operated at full capacity (90% to 100%) was 15.6% of the total number of responding establishments. Meanwhile, 37.5% operated at 70% to 89% capacity, while 47% operated below 70% capacity.
