RP industrial output holds steady in July

THE Philippines’ industrial sector continued to grow by double digits in July, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said Tuesday.

Data from NSO showed that the country’s purchases of foreign-made goods rose 16.2 percent to $4.678 billion in July from $4.026 billion in the same period last year.

In the first seven months of the year, total imports rose 26.7 percent to $30.911 billion from $24.405 billion in the same period last year.

The July imports brought the country’s seven-month trade deficit to $2.686 billion, lower than the $3.867 billion last year.

In July alone, the country recorded a lower deficit of $173.00 million compared with last year’s $713.00 million.

Electronics, which accounted for 34.9 percent of the total import bill, rose 2.4 percent to $1.634 billion in July over last year’s $1.595 billion.

Imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials amounted to $718.98 million from $610.11 million last year.

Purchases of transport equipment rose 27.7 percent to $260.86 million from $204.23 million in the same period last year.

Japan was the Philippines’ biggest source of imports for July at $607.56 million, followed by the US, $471.41 million; People’s Republic of China, $383.73 million; and Singapore, $381.09 million.

In a separate statement, NSO said the country’s manufacturing output went up by 22.9 percent in July, lower than the revised 24.7 percent in June.

Factory output a year ago contracted by 15 percent.

The agency attributed the growth to the two-digit increases in machinery except electrical, electrical machinery, miscellaneous manufactures, transport equipment, leather products, non-metallic mineral products, beverages, basic metals, petroleum products, textiles, rubber and plastic products and fabricated metal products.

The country’s volume of production index (VoPI), on a month-on-month basis, posted an increase of 1.8 percent in July.

The NSO said 17 percent of the 100 manufacturing firms surveyed had operated at full capacity in July. The average capacity utilization of these factories stood at 83.1 percent.

The NSO said sectors that posted more than 80-percent capacity utilization rates were basic metals, food manufacturing, petroleum products, electrical machinery, machinery except electrical, non-metallic mineral products, paper and paper products, miscellaneous manufactures, chemical products, rubber and plastic products and leather products.

More than half or 61.2 percent of the establishments operated at 70- to 89-percent capacity and 21.8 percent below 70-percent capacity.

The value of production index (VaPI) grew 16 percent in July from the 18.8 percent contraction in the same period last year.

VaPI, on a month-on-month basis, maintained its positive growth with an increment of 1.7 percent in July. –DARWIN G AMOJLEAR SENIOR REPORTER, Manila Times