Factory output rises faster in August

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s manufacturing output rose at a faster pace in August with the expansion driven by food, electronic products and refined petroleum products, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Preliminary results of the PSA’s  Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries showed the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) registered an 8.5-percent growth in August, faster than the 4.9-percent uptick in July.

The VoPI growth in August was also higher than the 4.6 percent increase in the same month last year.

The PSA said the higher VoPI growth rate in August was due to the improvements in three industry divisions such as computer, electronic and optical products; food products; and coke and refined petroleum products.

Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products registered a smaller 5.2-percent decline in August from the 17-percent decrease in July.

Production of food products posted a 0.7-percent uptick in August, a turnaround from the 3.4-percent contraction in the previous month.

Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products grew by 48 percent in August, higher than the 35.6-percent expansion in July.

Similar to the VoPI, the Value of Production Index (VaPI) also posted a faster growth rate of 9.1 percent in August from 4.9 percent in July.

The August VaPI growth, however, was lower than the 12.3-percent growth in the same month last year.

The PSA attributed the higher VaPI growth in August mainly to the slower decline in the index of computer, electronic and optical products industry division at 2.9 percent in August from a 16-percent drop in the previous month.

Also cited as a main contributor to the higher VaPI growth in August were food products as the industry division grew 3.3 percent during the month, a reversal of the 1.6-percent decline in July.

Another main contributor to the VaPI growth was the coke and refined petroleum products industry division, which had a higher growth rate of 39.3 percent in August from 26.1 percent in July.

Based on responding establishments, the PSA said the average capacity utilization rate for manufacturing was reported at 73.9 percent in August from 73.6 percent in the previous month.

“All industry divisions reported capacity utilization rates of more than 50 percent during the month,” the PSA said.

Industry divisions with the highest reported capacity utilization rate in August were machinery and equipment except electrical (80.3 percent), rubber and plastic products (79.5 percent) and transport equipment (79.3 percent).

The PSA also said 25.4 percent of responding establishments operated at full capacity or 90 percent to 100 percent in August.

Meanwhile, 39.9 percent operated at 70 to 89 percent capacity, and 34.7 percent operated at 70 percent and below capacity.