Factory output surges 39.3% in January

MANILA, Philippines – Output of the country’s manufacturing sector went up by a double-digit growth in January compared to the year-ago level, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported yesterday.

The VoPI (volume of production index ), which tracks output of the country’s 20 major industries, surged by 39.3 percent from a year ago level.

Analysts attributed the notable increase to inventory buildup and rising consumer spending in the run-up to the 2010 national elections.

Manufacturers reduced their production late last year due to the impact of the global financial crisis.

On a month-on-month comparison, the VoPI recorded a 11.9-percent decrease as two of the 10 major sectors significantly pulled down the production output of the manufacturing industry, namely: food manufacturing and beverages.

According to the NSO, the positive production performance of 13 major sectors contributed much to the double-digit growth rate in January.

Sectors that performed well in January were: electrical machinery, petroleum products, basic metals, machinery, electrical, miscellaneous products, non-metallic mineral products, chemical products, leather products and food manufacturing.

The NSO also reported that manufacturing output as measured by the value of production index (VaPI) surged by 38.2 percent due to increases in production performance in 15 major sectors. VaPI measures output in terms of prices.

Most factories had an estimated 82.4 percent average capacity utilization rate. The average capacity utilization rate measures how much of the manufacturing sector’s production capacity was actually used during the survey period. -Rica Delfinado, Philippine Star