PH manufacturing grows in Sept but at a slower pace

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PH manufacturing grows in Sept but at a slower pace
Image by Yong Wang from Pixabay
  • Philippine manufacturing grew for the 18th straight month in September 2022 but at a slower pace than a year ago
  • The Volume of Production Index (VoPI) rose 2.4% year on year while the Value of Production Index (VaPI) expanded 10%
  • Machinery and equipment manufacture led growth in both VoPI and VaPI
  • The VaPI and VoPI for manufacture of food products rose 17% and 7.6% y-o-y, respectively
  • The average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector was at 71.5%, a slight improvement from the 71.4% in August

The Philippine manufacturing sector continued to grow for the 18th straight month in September 2022, albeit at a slower pace year on year, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show.

The Volume of Production Index (VoPI) recorded a 2.4% in September 2022, slower than last August’s 4.4% and the 124.3% surge in September 2021, according to PSA’s latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI).

The Value of Production Index (VaPI) grew 10%, slower than the 11.8% growth in August and the 124.6% expansion in September 2021.

VoPI and VaPI have started recording growth in April 2021 after 13 consecutive months of decline triggered by COVID-19-related restrictions in the country that started in March 2020 and pulled down the sector’s production and sales indices.

The growth in VoPI was brought by the increases in 13 of the 22 industry divisions, led by manufacture of machinery and equipment, which improved 90%. On the contrary, nine industry divisions slipped year on year, with manufacture of electrical equipment leading the decline with a 54.7% dive.

For VaPI, the double-digit improvement was contributed by increases achieved by 15 of the 22 industry divisions. Manufacture of machinery and equipment posted the highest annual growth rate of 86.3% in September 2022.

The remaining seven industry divisions, on the other hand, reported declines in production with manufacture of electrical equipment registering the fastest annual decline of 53.5%.

The VaPI and VoPI for manufacture of food products, meanwhile, rose 17% and 7.6% y-o-y, respectively, in September 2022.

The VAPI expansion was attributed to increases posted by seven out of the eight industry groups in the manufacture of food products segment. Double-digit expansions were registered in four industry groups led by manufacture of grain mill products, starches and starch products with a 52.4% y-o-y expansion.

For VoPI, six industry groups posted year-on-year growth, of which four had two-digit increments led by manufacture of dairy products, which surged 30.9% y-o-y.

Based on responses of the establishments surveyed, the average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector in September 2022 was at 71.5%, up slightly from 71.4% in the previous month.

There were 20 out of 22 industry divisions with a more than 60% average capacity utilization rate. These were led by manufacture of wearing apparel, 80.9%; manufacture of furniture, 80.3%, and manufacture of computer, electronic, and optical products, 80%.

The proportion of establishments that operated at full capacity, or 90% to 100%, was 22% of the total number of responding establishments. Meanwhile, 39.1% operated at 70% to 89% capacity, while 38.9% operated below 70% capacity.

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