The Philippine manufacturing sector contracted 2.4 percent year-on-year in February, ending two months of growth, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Tuesday.
This followed a 2.3 percent increase in January and a 0.5 percent rise in December. In February 2024, manufacturing output increased 3.2 percent.
Data showed the decline in the year-on-year growth rate of the volume of production index (VoPI) for manufacturing in February was mainly due to a 36.5-percent annual drop in the manufacture of basic metals.
“Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, five posted annual declines in February 2025. Meanwhile, 14 industry divisions exhibited annual increments during the period,” the PSA said in a statement.
Food products recorded a faster annual increase of 11.9 percent in February, up from 10.9 percent in January. In February 2024, food manufacturing output had declined by 1.4 percent.
The value of production index (VaPI) also registered an annual decline of 1.6 percent in February, compared with annual increases of 3.0 percent in January 2025 and 1.8 percent in February 2024.
The fall in the annual rate of VaPI for manufacturing in February was mainly attributed to a faster annual decrease of 35.6 percent in the manufacture of basic metals.
The average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector was 75.9 percent in February, down from 76.0 percent in January, based on responding establishments. In February 2024, the average capacity utilization rate was 74.4 percent.
All industry divisions reported capacity utilization rates above 60.0 percent during the month. The top three divisions were the manufacture of machinery and equipment except electrical at 83.7 percent, other manufacturing and repair and installation of machinery and equipment at 81.5 percent, and the manufacture of tobacco products at 79.6 percent.
The proportion of establishments operating at full capacity (90 percent to 100 percent) was 29.4 percent of the total responding establishments. Meanwhile, 39.7 percent operated at 70 percent to 89 percent capacity, and 30.9 percent operated below 70 percent capacity.