ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Economy devider Philippine factory output growth cools to 1.2% in January

Philippine factory output growth cools to 1.2% in January

Published Mar 6, 2026 11:17 am
(Manila Bulletin file photo)
(Manila Bulletin file photo)

Growth in Philippine factory output slowed at the start of the year, reflecting softer expansion across the manufacturing sector, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In a statement on Friday, March 6, the PSA said the volume of production index (VoPI)—a proxy for factory output—grew by 1.2 percent year-on-year in January 2026, easing from two percent in December 2025 and 3.2 percent in January 2025.

VoPI tracks the physical volume of goods produced by manufacturers, making it one of the main indicators of the manufacturing sector’s real output. The slower expansion in January indicates that factory activity continued to grow but at a more moderate pace.
Preliminary data from the PSA’s latest monthly integrated survey of selected industries (MISSI) showed that more than half of the 22 industry divisions in the manufacturing sector posted annual increases in production volume during the month, although several key industries recorded slower growth or contractions compared with the previous month.
Despite the softer output growth, manufacturers reported slightly improved operating conditions as utilization of production facilities inched up at the start of the year.
The average capacity utilization rate—which measures how much of factories’ production capacity is being used—rose to 77.8 percent in January, slightly higher than 77.6 percent last December and 76.2 percent in January last year. All industry divisions recorded capacity utilization rates above 60 percent, the PSA said.
Other manufacturing indicators also pointed to modest expansion.

The value of production index (VaPI) also posted slower growth, rising 2.7 percent in January from 2.8 percent a month ago and 4.1 percent a year ago, PSA data showed.

The deceleration in production value was largely attributed to the food manufacturing sector, which expanded by 0.8 percent in January, sharply slower than the 14.8-percent increase during the previous month. The industry accounted for 53.2 percent of the slowdown in the overall January VaPI growth rate.

Other contributors to the weaker production value growth included slower expansion in the manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products, which grew 5.4 percent in January from 30.2 percent in December, as well as the 0.7-percent decline in transport equipment manufacturing after a 7.1-percent increase during the previous month.

Despite the slowdown, 11 of the 22 industry divisions in the manufacturing sector still recorded annual increases in production value during the month, while eight posted declines.

Meanwhile, sales growth in the manufacturing sector remained moderate.

The value of net sales index (VaNSI) rose 4.6 percent in January, slightly faster than the 4.3-percent growth recorded last December but slower than the 9.6-percent increase posted in January 2025.

The volume of net sales index (VoNSI) expanded by three percent during the month, easing from 3.6 percent a month ago and 8.6 percent a year ago, the PSA said.

MISSI monitors the performance of key manufacturing industries in the Philippines and provides indicators on production, sales, and capacity utilization based on responses from selected establishments nationwide.

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.