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The Philippine manufacturing sector continued to improve in May 2021, recording triple-digit increases in both volume and value
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The Volume of Production Index went up 265% while the Value of Production Index grew 249.5%
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Of the 22 industry divisions, 18 recorded increases in both volume and value, led by manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products
The Philippine manufacturing sector continued to improve in May 2021, recording triple-digit increases anew in both volume and value, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The Volume of Production Index (VoPI) grew 265% in May 2021, faster than the 155.6% increase registered in April 2021 and in contrast to the 73.2% decline in May 2020, according to PSA’s latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries. It must be noted through that the decline in May 2020 was due to strict quarantine restrictions in the country, which resulted in low production and sales indices for the manufacturing sector during that period.
The growth in May 2021 is the second consecutive month of improvement in VoPI after 13 months of straight decline since March 2020.
The expansion in VoPI in May was observed in 18 out of 22 industry divisions. The fastest growth was registered in manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products at 1,366.1%. In contrast, four industry divisions recorded decrements, with manufacture of tobacco products registering the fastest annual decline of 68.7%.
The Value of Production Index (VaPI) likewise continued to accelerate at 249.5% in May 2021, the second positive growth in VaPI since April 2019 and the highest annual growth in the 2018-based data series. This is also faster than 145.5% increment in April 2021and the 74.4% drop in May 2020.
Sharp increases in most of the 18 industry divisions that registered positive annual growth rates drove the VAPI upward. The top contributor was manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products with 1,472.7% annual growth. On the other hand, only four industry divisions contracted, led by manufacture of tobacco products at negative 69.3%.
Based on responding establishments, the average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector in May 2021 rose to 66.1% from 64% in the previous month.
Of the 20 industry divisions, 18 had at least 50% average capacity utilization rate ,which was led by manufacture of furniture (83%), manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products (79.6%), and manufacture of machinery and equipment except electrical (74.2%).
One-fifth of the responding establishments operated at full capacity.
The proportion of establishments that operated at full capacity (90% to 100%) was 20.8% of the total number of responding establishments. Meanwhile, 33.9% operated at 70% to 89% capacity, while 45.3% operated below 70% capacity.
