PHL manufacturing output growth hits 10-month high in May

MANUFACTURING OUTPUT increased for a second straight month in May at its fastest pace in 10 months, driven by food products, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.

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However, analysts said lingering uncertainty over US President Donald J. Trump's planned reciprocal tariffs could dampen demand for locally made goods.

Manufacturing output, measured by the volume of production index (VoPI), climbed to 4.9% year on year in May, according to the preliminary results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries.

This was faster than 4.2% in the same month last year and 4.3% in April. It was also the quickest growth in 10 months or since 7.2% in July 2024.

Adjusting for seasonality factors, VoPI declined 2.9%, a steep fall from the 15% growth in the previous month.

The May VoPI reading brought average manufacturing output growth to 1.8% for the first five months, a tad faster than the 1.7% seen in the same period in 2024.

The PSA attributed the year-on-year acceleration in the VoPI to the faster manufacture of food products, which rose by 15.7% from April's 11.2% and 3.1% in May last year. The food products index accounted for 18.7% of factory output.

This was followed by transport equipment, which recorded a 13.5% increase from 7.4% the month prior.

Average capacity utilization, or the extent to which industry resources are used in producing goods, averaged 76.9% in May. This was slightly higher than 76.7% in the previous month and 75.2% in May 2023.