Factory output slows in June

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s manufacturing industry expanded at a slower pace in June because of production declines from the food and metal industries.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in a report, said that the volume of production index (VoPI) for the manufacturing industry grew by 3.4 percent in June.

When compared, the VoPI grew at a faster rate of 7.7 percent in May, although it shrank by 0.04 percent in June of last year.

The PSA attributed the slower pace of growth to the decline in the manufacture of food products and fabricated metal of 3.2 percent and 36.4 percent, respectively. Also, the PSA said beverage makers decreased their output by 7.7 percent in June.

According to the PSA, the drop in food production was driven by the reduction of output from the dairy segment (13.3 percent) and other goods (6.9 percent). The processing and preservation of seafood also declined by 15.4 percent, faster than May’s 1.4 percent growth.

“Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, 10 exhibited annual deceleration in their indices during the period, as there were nine industry divisions that recorded annual increments in June 2023,” the PSA said.

On the other hand, publishers of recorded media accounted for the highest growth in VoPI at 34.6 percent, while manufacturers of transport equipment contributed the biggest in the upturn.

The PSA also listed the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products as one of the largest contributors to the June growth.

Like the VoPI, the value of production index grew at a slower rate of 3.9 percent in June from 9.9 percent in May and 7.8 percent in June 2022. The PSA said the 0.4 percent decline from the food industry prevented the VaPI from expanding faster than it did in May.

The manufacture of food products caused 36.8 percent of the downtrend in VaPI in June. In turn, it is expected that the index will decline given that the manufacture of food products makes up the heaviest weight in the computation.

“Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, 11 of them exhibited annual reductions in their indices during the period,” the PSA said.

Similar to VoPI, reproducers of recorded media registered the highest expansion in VaPI of 37.4 percent, as transport equipment assemblers chipped in the largest in the growth.