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Slow growth in the food products industry curbed Philippine manufacturing activity in November 2024
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The value of production index for the manufacturing section dropped 3.9% while the volume of production index fell 4.2% in November
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The average capacity utilization rate in November 2024 was at 75.6% from 75.8% in October 2024
Slow growth in the food products industry curbed Philippine manufacturing activity in November 2024, preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
The overall value of production index (VaPI) dropped 3.9% in November from the revised annual increase of 0.3% in October 2024 and 2.1% decline in November 2023, according to PSA’s latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI).
The volume of production index (VoPI) likewise fell 4.2% in November 2024 from a revised 0.7% hike in October 2024 and 2.1% increase in November 2023.
With the latest readings, the average growth rate of VaPI and VoPI from January to November 2024 are at 0.3% and 1.1%, respectively.
The decline in VaPI in November was mainly attributed by the slower growth of the manufacture of food products industry division at 1.5%. Out of the 22 industry divisions for the manufacturing section, manufacture of food products had the highest weight in the computation of VaPI for November, contributing to the 24.6% to the downtrend.
Other contributors to the decline were the deceleration in the annual growth rate of transport equipment at 1.7%, and the annual drop in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products at 2.6%.
Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, seven exhibited annual declines while 12 industry divisions posted annual increases, with the manufacture of electrical equipment posting the highest increment of 41.6% during the period.
For VoPI, the drop in November was also primarily driven by the same three industry divisions as VaPI.
These include the manufacture of food products, transport equipment, and computer, electronic and optical products, which all posted a decrease of 0.8%, 0.4%, and 5.6%, respectively.
Furthermore, seven industry divisions exhibited annual declines during the period while 12 industry divisions posted annual increases in November 2024.
The top three industry divisions contributing to the overall year-on-year growth of VaPI and VoPI in November 2024 were the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products; basic metals; and computer, electronic and optical products.
The value of net sales index in November, meanwhile, grew 3.5% after a 1.1% drop in October 2024, mainly due to the annual increase in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products at 6.2%.
The volume of net sales index likewise improved 3.1% from a 0.8% decrease in October 2024. Similarly, the 3% growth in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products also was the main contributor for the increase in November.
Based on MISSI’s responding establishments, the average capacity utilization rate in November 2024 was reported at 75.6% from 75.8% average capacity utilization rate in October 2024.
All industry divisions reported capacity utilization rates of more than 60% during the month.
The top three industry divisions in terms of reported capacity utilization rate were manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products at 83.7%, textiles at 82%, and machinery and equipment except electrical at 80.4%.
