PH factory output jumps 9.1% in September
At A Glance
- Volume of Production Index (VoPI) for Philippine factory output grew at a faster pace in September at 9.1% compared to the previous month's 6.8% growth.<br>VoPI showed improvement compared to growth rate of 4.5% recorded in September of the previous year.<br>The faster growth can be attributed to annual increases reported in eight industry divisions.<br>Value of Production Index (VaPI) also experienced an increase, with a growth rate of 8.9% in September compared to 7.5% in August but is lower than the 12.6% in September of the previous year.<br>Around 25% of surveyed establishments operated at full capacity (90% to 100%).<br>40% of establishments operated at a capacity of 70% to 89%.<br>35% of establishments operated below 70% of their production capacity.
The production rate of goods in the country's factories posted a significant increase in September after several industries reported more output, the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
Based on the preliminary findings of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) by the PSA, the volume of production index (VoPI), which measures the number of goods produced, expanded threefold to 9.1 percent in September.
This growth rate is higher than the 6.8 percent expansion recorded in August and an improvement over of 4.5 percent recorded in the same month last year.
According to the PSA data, the faster growth can be attributed to higher production levels year-on-year reported by eight different industries.
In September, the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products increased by 66.9 percent, while beverages experienced an increase of eight percent. Additionally, the production of transport equipment saw a rise of 11 percent.
Manufacture of food products, meanwhile, saw an annual drop of 8.3 percent in September, which was faster than the 1 percent in August but is lower than the 10.9 percent growth recorded in the same month last year.
The faster annual decline in food products was attributed to the double-digit decrement in the manufacture of dairy products industry group at 28.1 percent from 6.8 percent in the previous month.
Other contributing factors included annual declines in the output of other food products, as well as a faster annual decline in the processing and preserving of fruits and vegetables.
Several sectors experienced declines in production levels, including fabricated metal products except machinery and equipment (-26.5 percent), chemical and chemical products (-7.3 percent), machinery and equipment (-24.7 percent), apparel (-35.8 percent), rubber and plastic products (-8.4 percent), and more.
On the other hand, divisions such as basic metals (14 percent), manufacture of computer, electronic, and optical products (2.9 percent), electrical equipment (26.5 percent), and others saw increases in production.
In addition, the value of production index (VaPI) experienced faster growth in September, expanding by 8.9 percent compared to the lower growth rate of 7.5 percent in August. Though, its lower than the 12.6 percent in September of the previous year.
Out of the 617 survey establishment respondents, around 25 percent operated at full capacity (90 percent to 100 percent of production capacity), while approximately 40 percent operated at a capacity of 70 percent to 89 percent.
The remaining 35 percent operated below 70 percent of their production capacity.