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Philippine manufacturing accelerated in both volume and value in July 2022, its 16th consecutive month of growth
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The Volume of Production (VoPI) rose at an annual rate of 2.5% while the Value of Production Index (VaPI) grew 10.6%
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Capacity utilization in the sector averaged 71.3% in July, slightly up from 71.2% in June
The Philippine manufacturing sector grew for the 16th consecutive month in July, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The Volume of Production Index (VoPI) rose at an annual rate of 2.5% during the month, faster than June’s 0.7% growth but far behind the 534.4% upsurge in July 2021, according to PSA’s latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI).
The Value of Production Index (VaPI) rose 10.6% in July 2022, from an annual growth rate of 8.3% in the previous month. But it was also far below the 529.9% rise in July 2021.
READ: Philippine manufacturing on growth path for 15 consecutive months
The skyrocketing of both VoPI and VaPI in July last year followed a rebound in April 2021 after 13 consecutive months of decline as COVID-related restrictions since March 2020 forced factory closures that pulled down the manufacturing sector’s production and sales indices.
The growth in VoPI was contributed by an improvement in 14 out of 22 industry divisions, of which the fastest annual growth rate of 30.3% was reported in the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment.
In contrast, eight industry divisions posted annual decreases with manufacture of electrical equipment recording the fastest annual drop of 52.7%.
VaPI’s gain, meanwhile, was attributed to the positive growth rates of 17 out of the 22 industry divisions. Among these, manufacture of machinery and equipment except electricals posted the highest annual growth rate of 32.1% in July 2022.
The remaining five industry divisions saw their production shrink, with manufacture of electrical equipment registering the fastest annual decline of 51.2%.
Based on MISSI’s responding establishments, the average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector in July 2022 was 71.3%, edging up from 71.2% in the previous month.
There were 20 out of 22 industry divisions with a more than 60% average capacity utilization rate, led by manufacture of furniture at 80.7%, manufacture of computer, electronic, and optical products at 80.2%, and manufacture of wearing apparel at 80%.
More than a quarter, or 26.2%, of the responding establishments operated at full capacity of 90% to 100%.
Meanwhile, 37.4% operated at 70% to 89% capacity, while 36.5% operated below 70% capacity.
