Factory output rose by 22.2% in October

MANILA, Philippines—The country’s manufacturing output posted double-digit growth in October as industries prepared for the spike in consumer demand during the holidays.

The value and volume of manufacturing output in October climbed by 18.9 percent and 22.2 percent year on year, respectively, according to data from the National Statistics Office. This was the fastest in two years.

“The increase in October is indicative of the expected surge in the domestic production to take advantage of the spending spree in the last quarter of the year due to the holiday season,” said economist Cid Terosa of the University of Asia and the Pacific.

The results of the NSO’s Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISS) showed that the growth in the value of output, as measured by the Value of Production Index (VaPI), was helped by the “significant expansion” in five industries—footwear and wearing apparel, electrical machinery, basic metals, food manufacturing and transport equipment.

The footwear and wearing apparel led the gainers, posting a 120.7-percent rise in value of output.

It was followed by electrical machinery (56.6 percent), basic metals (26.3 percent), food manufacturing (25.4 percent) and transport equipment (14.7 percent).

In terms of production volume, measured by the Volume of Production Index (VoPI), the same industries were the lead gainers.

Increases were observed in footwear and wearing apparel (128.9 percent), electrical machinery (75.2 percent), basic metals (33.8 percent), food manufacturing (19.4 percent), wood and wood products (15.5 percent), transport equipment (13.5 percent) and machinery except electrical (12.3 percent).

Nine major sectors, however, showed decline in the value of output. These were chemical products (-17.1 percent), transport equipment (-20.7), petroleum products (-8.1), textiles (-43.7 percent), tobacco products (-24.1 percent), basic metals (-9.2 percent), furniture and fixtures (-17.5 percent), leather products (-34.7 percent), and paper and paper products (-1.7)