Factory output rose 24.7 percent in October from a year ago on higher production of fabricated metal products, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show Thursday.
The growth in the volume of product index in October this year was slower than the 123.1-percent increase in September, but marked a reversal of the 25.4-percent decline registered in October 2020.
The PSA said the increase in VOPI was brought about by the positive growth rates of 14 industry divisions, led by the manufacture of fabricated metal products with a 176.6-percent growth. The remaining eight industry divisions recorded decreases, led by manufacture of tobacco products with a contraction of 58.6 percent.
Data showed the value of production index also continued to increase, but at a slower rate of 24.8 percent in October compared with the 122.5-percent rise in September.
The PSA said that based on responding establishments, the average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector improved to 67.0 percent in October from 66.6 percent in September. Twenty of 22 industry divisions reported more than 50-percent average capacity utilization rate.
The proportion of establishments that operated at full capacity (90 percent to 100 percent) was 20.5 percent of the total number of responding establishments.
Meanwhile, the total foreign investments approved by investment promotion agencies in the third quarter reached P16.82 billion, down by 45.8 percent from P31.03 billion in the same quarter of 2020.
These investment pledges approved by the Board of Investments, Clark Development Corp., Philippine Economic Zone Authority and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
The foreign investment commitments in the third quarter were driven by investments from Japan which accounted for 66.4 percent of the total, followed by the Netherlands (9.2 percent) and British Virgin Islands.
Japan committed P11.16 billion worth of investments in the third quarter, while Netherlands and British Virgin Islands pledged P1.56 billion and P698.32 million, respectively.