By Christine Joyce S. Castañeda
Philippine factories ramped up production in October, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported this morning.
Preliminary results of the PSA’s Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) showed that in October, factory output – as measured by the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) – grew 3.7% year-on-year.
This was slower than the revised 4.2% growth recorded in September but was a reversal from the 6.6% contraction a year earlier.
“Among the 13 major industry groups that reported increases in VoPI, eight major industries recorded two-digit growths, namely: textiles (41.9%), miscellaneous manufactures (31.2%), petroleum products (30.8%), machinery except electrical (17.6%), wood and wood products (17.1%), electrical machinery (16.9%), non-metallic mineral products (11.9%), and paper and paper products (10.7%),” the PSA said.
Average capacity utilization — the extent by which industry resources are being used in the production of goods — was estimated at 84.3%. 11 of the 20 sectors registered capacity utilization rates of 80% and above.

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