PH manufacturing growth slower in January

The Philippine manufacturing sector posted slower growth in January due mainly to the deceleration in the manufacture of food products, non-metallic mineral products, and transport equipment during the month, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Friday showed.

Preliminary results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) showed that the volume of production index (VoPI) for January posted a 1.2% annual increase in January, slower than the 2.0% in December 2024 and the 3.2% in January 2025.

The manufacture of food products recorded a 0.5% decrease in January, down from the 14.9% growth in December, while the manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products grew at a slower pace of 6.8%, from 32.4% the previous month.

Manufacture of transport equipment also posted an annual decrement of 1.9% from the 5.8% growth recorded in December.

Several industry divisions also posted negative annual growth rates — basic metals (-22.1%), printing and reproduction of recorded media (-16.5%), fabricated metal products (-15.4%), rubber and plastic products (-14.0%), basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (-12.1%), coke and refined petroleum products (-8.7%), and chemicals and chemical products (-4.2%).

The value of production index (VoPI), meanwhile, grew by 2.7% in January, reflecting a deceleration from the 2.8% in December and the 4.1% in January 2025.

“The deceleration in the annual growth rate of VaPI for manufacturing in January 2026 was mainly attributed by the slower annual increment of manufacture of food products,” the PSA said.

The manufacture of food products — which contributed 53.2% to the VaPI slowdown — grew by 0.8% in January, down from 14.8% in the previous month.

The average capacity utilization for the month stood at 77.8%, higher than the 77.6% in December, and the 76.2% the same month in 2025.

Some 28.5% of manufacturers operated at full capacity (90% to 100% in January), while 42.6% operated at 70% to 89% capacity, and 28.9% operated at below 70% capacity. —VAL, GMA Integrated News