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FACTORY output in May continued to expand as manufacturers of
leather, footwear, food and beverages products increased production
capacity by double-digit, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said
Friday.
In its Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected
Industries, the NSO said the volume of production index (VoPI) grew
4.7-percent in May from a 7.1-percent decline in the same period
last year. In May, the manufacturing output was 6.3 percent.
The statistics agency also attributed the
increase to the double-digit growth production in wearing apparel,
wood and wood products, basic metals, and rubber and plastic
products.
On a month-on-month basis, VoPI posted a slower
growth of 0.6 percent in May 2008.
The NSO said 10.5 percent of the 100
manufacturing firms surveyed operated at full capacity in May. The
average capacity utilization of these factories stood at 80.8
percent.
The NSO said sectors that posted more than
80-percent capacity utilization rates were basic metals, food
manufacturing, petroleum products, footwear and wearing apparel,
leather products, paper and paper products, miscellaneous
manufactures, chemical products (excluding plastic products),
electrical machinery, and rubber and plastic products.
More than half or 59.4 percent of the
establishments operated at 70-percent to 89-percent capacity and
30.1 percent of the establishments operated below 70-percent
capacity.
In addition, the NSO said the Value of
Production Index (VaPI) for the manufacturing industry continued to
grow as it posted an increase of 9.1 percent in May from a
5.5-percent drop in the same period last year.
The NSO said significant expansions in
production were noted in basic metals with a year-on-year growth of
48.2 percent, followed by other major sectors like leather products,
wood and wood products, footwear and wearing apparel, food
manufacturing, rubber and plastic products, and beverages.
VaPI recorded a month on month increase of 2.9
percent in May owing to the two-digit increases observed in
publishing and printing, tobacco products, basic metals, wood and
wood products, and leather products.
The NSO said the volume of net sales, on a
year-on-year basis, slightly grew by 3 percent in May due to the
two-digit increases reported by four major sectors such as leather,
wood, paper products and footwear and wearing apparel. Likewise,
value of net sales accelerated by 6.5 percent in May.
-- Darwin G. Amojelar
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