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The Filipino manufacturing sector marked the first month of the year with a solid upturn in manufacturing conditions
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The manufacturing sector’s headline purchasing managers’ index registered a nine-month high of 52.9 in January 2026, rising from 50.2 in December 2025
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New orders registered a strong and accelerated uptick, supported in part by a renewed rise in export demand
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January data indicated continued pressure on supply chains as manufacturing companies in the Philippines reported longer lead times for inputs
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S&P Global said January’s survey showed a loss in business confidence towards future output, with the level of optimism at the second weakest on record, only surpassing the survey low observed in March 2020
The Filipino manufacturing sector marked the first month of the year with a solid upturn in manufacturing conditions, according to the latest S&P Global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey data.
The manufacturing sector’s headline PMI – a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance – registered a nine-month high of 52.9 in January 2026, rising from 50.2 in December 2025.
“After a prolonged period of subdued growth in the second half of 2025, the first PMI data release for 2026 points to a marked shift in momentum. New orders registered a strong and accelerated uptick, supported in part by a renewed rise in export demand. As a result, production returned to expansion territory for the first time in five months,” S&P Global Market Intelligence economist Maryam Baluch said in a statement.
S&P said according to anecdotal evidence, strengthening underlying demand trends supported the latest uptick in new sales, which then fed through to a renewed rise in production levels.
Moreover, growth in overall new orders was aided by a fresh rise in new factory orders received from abroad.
The rate of expansion was modest but marked the first month of expansion since last September.
Higher production requirements led to a renewed expansion in workforce numbers in the latest survey period. Job creation was recorded following two consecutive months of shallow declines. Although the pace of expansion was slight, it was the fastest since last June.
READ: PH manufacturing recovers in Dec 2025 with slight growth
The recent uptick in employment allowed Filipino manufacturers to reduce backlogs of work at the start of the year. The rate at which work-in-hand contracted was marginal but marked the first reduction in three months.
The fresh upturn in production requirements led goods producers in the Philippines to increase their purchasing activity again in January. Moreover, the pace of growth was solid and the fastest in 12 months.
Additionally, firms highlighted their preference of stock-building in January as holdings of inputs rose for the first time in three months.
Post-production inventories, meanwhile, were also raised and for a second a straight month.
The prices Filipino goods producers paid on average for inputs rose further in January. This was attributed to higher raw material costs. That said, the pace of input price inflation was broadly unchanged from December’s recent low and was only marginal overall. As a result, prices charged for Filipino manufactured goods also rose only slightly in the latest survey period.
Moreover, in both cases, the rates of increases were weaker than their respective long-run averages.
January data indicated continued pressure on supply chains as manufacturing companies in the Philippines reported longer lead times for inputs. The extent to which delivery times lengthened was more pronounced than seen in December.
Concerningly, S&P said January’s survey showed a loss in business confidence towards future output. The level of optimism was the second weakest on record, only surpassing the survey low observed in March 2020.
While overall positive sentiment was led by hopes that demand conditions will improve, expectations were dampened by headwinds from economic uncertainty in key export markets.
