PSA: Philippine manufacturing growth picked up in November 2023

Philippine manufacturing growth accelerated in November 2023 due to improved production of beverages, transport equipment, and chemical products during the month, government data released on Tuesday showed.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the volume of production index (VoPI) grew by 1.9% last November, faster than the 1.5% growth recorded in the previous month.

This was attributed to the slower decline in the manufacture of beverages at 11.6% from 34.4% the previous month, and in chemical and chemical products at 2.4% from 10.9%. The manufacture of transport equipment rose by 17.1%, faster than the 5.8% in October.

Faster annual growth was also recorded in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (37.0%), electrical equipment (29.9%), basic metals (26.6%), printing and reproduction of recorded media (8.6%), and the manufacture of paper and paper products (0.7%).

Declines were seen in 15 out of the 22 industry divisions, with the biggest recorded in the manufacture of machinery and equipment (-27.0%), leather and related products (-26.6%), and fabricated metal products (-25.4%).

The VoPI for the manufacture of food products also declined by 5.0%, slower than the 5.7% drop seen in October 2023.

“The slower annual decrease of VoPI for manufacture of food products in November 2023 was primarily driven by the slower annual decrease in the manufacture of other food products industry group,” the PSA said.

Likewise, the value of production index (VaPI) expanded by 2.2%, faster than the 1.1% growth the previous month but slower than the 13.2% in November 2022.

“The expansion in the annual growth of the VaPI in November 2023 was mainly attributed to the slower annual decrease in the manufacture of beverages,” the PSA said, as the industry division declined by 1.4%, slower than the 26.9% the previous month.

The manufacture of beverages was said to have contributed 46.1% to the annual uptrend of VaPI in November, with seven industry divisions posting positive annual growth rates led by the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products up by 28.8%.

The establishments surveyed by the PSA had an average capacity utilization rate of 74.8% in November, slightly higher than the 74.3% in October, with all industry divisions reporting rates of over 60.0%.

Some 24.2% of the establishments surveyed operated at full capacity or 90% to 100%, while 41.5% operated at 70% to 89% capacity, and 34.4% operated at below 70% capacity. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News