THE country’s manufacturing output grew four-fold in June, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Friday.
Based on the results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI), the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) surged 453.1 percent in June.
This was faster than the 263.2-percent increase registered in the previous month. In June 2020, VoPI contracted 80.6 percent.
“The growth noted in the volume of production for manufacturing sector in June 2021 was due to the improvements in 19 out of 22 industry divisions,” PSA said.
“The fastest growth rate was registered in manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products at 2,932.2 percent,” it added.
Apart from this, manufacture of fabricated metal products—except machinery and equipment—posted high growth in June, at 132.6 percent.
This was followed by the manufacture of wood, bamboo, cane, rattan articles and related products which grew 85.7 percent and the manufacture of computers; manufacture of electrical equipment, 65.3 percent; and electronic with a growth of 58.6 percent.
The Value of Production Index (VaPI) grew in June 2021 with an annual rate of 439.6 percent, from the previous month’s three-digit annual increase of 248.1 percent.
The PSA said the year-on-year growth rate in June 2021 was the third positive growth since April 2019 and the highest annual growth in the 2018-based data series. VaPI, however, posted a contraction of 81.7 percent in June 2020.
“The expansion in VaPI for manufacturing sector in June 2021 was contributed by the increases in 19 of the 22 industry divisions that registered positive annual growth rates,” PSA said.
The data showed that the top contributor was also the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products with 3,230-percent annual growth rate.
Other products that recorded high VaPI growth were Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment at 140 percent and manufacture of electrical equipment at 66.8 percent.
Capacity utilization
Meanwhile, PSA data showed the average capacity utilization rate for manufacturing increased to 67.7 percent in June 2021. This was higher than the 66.6 percent recorded in May 2021.
The data showed that 18 of the 22 industry divisions had more than 50-percent average capacity utilization rate which was led by manufacture of furniture at 83 percent; manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products, 78.7 percent; and manufacture of tobacco products, 76.2 percent.
PSA said around a fourth or 26.5 percent of the total number of responding establishments operated at full capacity.
Data showed 33.4 percent operated at 70 to 89 percent capacity and 40.1 percent operated below 70 percent capacity.
The MISSI is now termed the Production Index and Net Sales Index. It is a report that monitors the production, net sales, inventories, and capacity utilization of selected manufacturing establishments to provide flash indicators on the performance of the manufacturing sector.