PH manufacturing continued to contract in March 2025

The Philippine manufacturing sector continued to contract in March 2025 as five industry divisions posted annual declines during the month, government data released on Wednesday showed.

The volume of production index (VoPI) for the month posted a 0.2% decline, preliminary results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This follows the 1.5% contraction in February, and the 5.1% drop in March 2024.

Five of the 19 industry divisions saw declines—basic metals down 38.9%, chemicals and chemical products down 21.6%, wearing apparel down 5.0%, furniture down 3.9%, and coke and refined petroleum products down 0.6%.

The latest figures brought the first-quarter average growth rate to 0.2%, which the PSA attributed to the upturn in the annual growth rates of the manufacture of food products; machinery and equipment; and electrical equipment.

Meanwhile, the value of production index (VaPI) increased by 0.4%, following the 0.6% decline in February, and the 6.2% drop in March 2024.

"The uptrend in the annual growth of VaPI for manufacturing in March 2025 was mainly attributed to the faster annual increase in the manufacture of food products at 19.2% during the month," the PSA said.

The biggest jumps were seen in the manufacture of leather and related products including footwear (47.0%), tobacco products (28.1%), machinery and equipment (21.7%), electrical equipment (25.0%), food products (19.2%), and beverages (12.1%).

This brought the year-to-date average VaPI up 0.9%, which was also attributed to the manufacture of food products; machinery and equipment; and computer, electronic, and optical products.

Out of the 589 respondent establishments, 28.5% operated at full capacity or 90% to 100% during the month. Some 27.2% operated at 80% to 89% capacity, while 17.0% operated at 70% to 79% capacity. The rest operated at below 70% capacity. — VDV, GMA Integrated News