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The country’s manufacturing sector bounced back in April 2021, recording triple-digit increases in both volume and value and breaking 13 months of straight decline
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The Volume of Production Index went up 162.1% while the Value of Production Index grew 154.3%
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Of the 22 industry divisions, 20 recorded increases in both volume and value, led by manufacture of basic metals
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The average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector in April 2021 rose slightly to 63.6% from 63% in the previous month
The Philippine manufacturing sector bounced back in April 2021, recording triple-digit increases in both volume and value and breaking 13 months of straight decline, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The Volume of Production Index (VoPI) went up 162.1% in April 2021, recovering from a 73.3% annual decline in March 2021 and 64.8% decrease in April 2020, according to PSA’s latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries.
The improvement comes after quarantine restrictions due to COVID-19 were eased somewhat in April.
The VoPI improved on the back of positive growth in 20 industry divisions, with 15 recording three-digit annual increases.
Manufacture of basic metals registered the fastest growth rate at 687.5%. Meanwhile, manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (-32.3%) and manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (-18.9%) were the only two divisions to show decreases during the period.
The Value of Production Index (VaPI) likewise grew 154.3% in April 2021 from a 74.2% drop in March 2021 and 66.6% decline in April 2020. The growth in April 2021 was the first positive growth since April 2019 and the highest annual increase in the 2018-based data series.
The VaPI’s growth was based on the positive growth rates of 20 industry divisions, 14 of which posted three-digit annual growth rates, with manufacture of basic metals posting the highest expansion at 729.1%.
On the other hand, two industry divisions, namely, manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products and manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations recorded double-digit decrements of -24.5% and -19.4%, respectively.
Based on responding establishments, the average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector in April 2021 rose slightly to 63.6% from 63% in the previous month.
Eighteen of the 22 industry divisions had at least 50% average capacity utilization rate. They were led by manufacture of furniture (81.3%), manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products (80.9%), and manufacture of electrical equipment (75.2%).
About one-fourth of the responding establishments operated at full capacity.
