Manufacturing growth in the Philippines picked up in September 2025 led by gains in food, transport and electronics production, according to data released Friday by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The volume of production index (VoPI) for manufacturing rose to 1.3 percent in September, a quicker pace compared to the 0.9 percent growth recorded in August 2025.
The September reading marks a turnaround from the 5.6-percent decline registered in the same month of 2024.
The PSA’s Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) showed that the top three industry divisions contributing most to the overall year-on-year VoPI growth were food products; transport equipment; and computer, electronic and optical products.
The value of production index (VaPI) also increased at a faster annual pace of 2.4 percent in September from 1.6 percent in August. This contrasts sharply with the 7.0-percent annual decline in the manufacturing VaPI seen in September 2024.
Several key sectors showed notable changes. The VoPI for coke and refined petroleum products posted a slower annual decrease of 3.2 percent in September, improving from the 12.1-percent decline in August 2025.
The manufacture of beverages saw an annual increase of 2.9 percent, reversing an 8.2-percent annual decline in the previous month.
The manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products registered a quicker annual increase of 4.2 percent during the month, up from 1.2 percent in August.
For the manufacture of food products, the annual growth rate of VoPI eased to 12.8 percent in September from 21.3 percent in August. In September 2024, the VoPI for this sector had grown by 1.0 percent.
Based on responses from manufacturing establishments, the average capacity utilization rate for the sector in September 2025 was reported at 77.1 percent. While this was slightly lower than the 77.3 percent recorded in August 2025, it was higher than the 75.5 percent seen in September 2024. All industry divisions reported capacity utilization rates exceeding 65.0 percent during the month.
The top three industry divisions in terms of capacity utilization were the manufacture of beverages at 83.5 percent, other manufacturing and repair and installation of machinery and equipment at 83.1 percent and the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products at 82.5 percent.
