PH factory output shrank in May, says PSA

The total output of the country’s factories continued to shrink in May amid the COVID-19 quarantine, although at a slower pace than in April thanks to the gradual resumption of some economic activities earlier put to a halt at the height of the lockdown. The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) monthly integrated survey of selected industries for May showed the volume of production index (VoPI)—a proxy for factory output—contracted 40.3 percent year-on-year, although lower than the 43.6-percent drop in April.“The reduction in the indices of all industry groups pulled down the VoPI during the month with petroleum products (down 91.4 percent), transport equipment (down 79.3 percent) and footwear and wearing apparel (down 76.6 percent)” leading the decline, the PSA said.The value of production index (VaPI) in May fell 42.1 percent year-on-year, although an improvement from the bigger 45.5-percent contraction the previous month.Just like the VoPI, the same three industries led the slide in VaPI: petroleum products (down 92.1 percent), transport equipment (down 80.3 percent) and footwear and wearing apparel (down 78.7 percent).

For Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, these May manufacturing figures nonetheless showed signs of “recovery.”

“The recovery is seen in the increase in capacity utilization—as a whole, capacity utilization increased to 73.4 percent in May compared to 71.2 percent in April,” the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority said in a statement. INQ