Growth in factory output accelerated in July following a slowdown reported a month before, according to the preliminary results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries or MISSI released on Thursday.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported the Volume of Production Index or VoPI increased by 5.7 percent in July, up from 3.4 percent in June and 3.6 percent in July 2021.

The PSA said the higher annual growth was driven by the increases in three industry divisions: beverage manufacturing, which logged 12.6 percent expansion, coke, and refined petroleum products, up 36.2 percent, and food products, 1.2 percent higher.

Several other sectors experienced faster annual growth rates than others.

These comprised the manufacturing of transport equipment, electrical equipment, basic metals, wood, bamboo, cane, rattan articles, and related products, repair and installation of machinery and equipment, and printing and reproduction of recorded media.

11 industries lag

Notably, among the 22 industry divisions, 11 experienced a decrease in comparison to the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the Value of Production Index or VaPI advanced by 5.7 percent in July, which surpassed the 4.2 percent growth registered in June, but fell short of the 12 percent growth recorded in July 2022.

The growth was attributed to the gains in the manufacturing of beverages, coke, refined petroleum products, and food products attributed to the faster VaPI, with increases of 22.6 percent, 26.6 percent, and 3.1 percent, respectively.

According to the state-run PSA, there were also double-digit increases in the manufacturing of various products. For instance, electrical equipment saw a rise of 29.2 percent, while transport equipment increased by 20.7 percent.

Items made from wood, bamboo, cane and rattan went up 17.8 percent, and there was a 15.2 percent increase in printing and reproduction of recorded media.

Additionally, other types of manufacturing, as well as repair and installation of machinery and equipment, experienced a 14.2 percent increase.
The average capacity utilization rate in July was 73.5 percent, a slight increase from the previous month's 73.3 percent.