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Philippines: Factory output fell in March; drop in fuel products cited

  • May 06, 2020

The country’s manufacturing production, both in volume and value, fell in March, partly on the back of the decrease in petroleum products, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.

Results of the statistics agency’s latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries showed that the volume of production index (VoPi) contracted by 6.3 percent in March from the revised 4.0-percent expansion in February. The March figure is also slower than the 8.8-percent drop posted a year earlier.

Industry groups that saw month-on-month declines included petroleum products (-34.3 from -32.9 percent); tobacco products (-33.9 from -29.3 percent); miscellaneous manufacturers (-29 from -22 percent); nonmetallic mineral products (-24.8 from 6.1 percent); paper and paper products (-22.8 from -6 percent); and electrical machinery (-20.1 from -5.7 percent).

Also declining were machinery, except electrical (-10.1 from 25.9 percent); beverages (-10.4 from 12.7 percent); food manufacturing (-2.3 from 5.8 percent) ; basic metals (-6.7 from -10.3 percent); textiles (-9.9 from -5.1 percent); rubber and plastic products (-4.4 from 3.6 percent); leather products (-15 from -13.3 percent); and fabricated metal products (-0.4 from 29.3 percent.

The value of production index (VaPi), meanwhile, slid by 11.3 percent, faster than the revised 1-percent decrease in February and the 4.4-percent drop in March 2019.

The PSA attributed the month-on-month fall in the indices of 17 major industry groups. Of these, three sank by at least 30 percent: petroleum products (-40.5 from -32.3 percent), tobacco products (-30.9 from -26.1 percent) and miscellaneous manufactures (-30.2 from -23.8 percent).

Decreases were also seen in electrical machinery (-24.5 from -8.9 percent); machinery except electrical (-12.7 from 21.6 percent); nonmetallic mineral products (-27.5 from 2.7 percent); footwear and wearing apparel (-20.1 from -4.4 percent); basic metals (-13.3 from -14.9 percent); and paper and paper products (-25.7 from -9.7 percent).

Source: https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/05/06/business/business-top/factory-output-fell-in-march-drop-in-fuel-products-cited/722963/