·  Value of Production Index (VaPI) gains slightly

Value of Production Index (VaPI) of the manufacturing industry continued to increase at a slower rate of 0.6 percent in December 2002 compared with year ago figure, according to the preliminary results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI). Major sources of increase were observed in the following sectors: textile, transport equipment, tobacco, fabricated metal products, machinery excluding electrical, food manufacturing and footwear and wearing apparel(see Table 1-A).

However, VaPI continued to drop on a month-on-month basis, registering 4.5 percent in December 2002. Factory performance in the following sectors weakened significantly compared to the previous month: wood and wood products, leather products, tobacco, transport equipment, petroleum products and machinery excluding electrical (see Table 1-A).

·  Volume of Production Index (VoPI) decreases further

Slowdown in Volume of Production Index (VoPI) continued as it fell by 5.0 percent in December 2002 compared with a year ago figure. Basic metals recorded the biggest decline of 45.6 percent, followed by four (4) other sectors that also exhibited double-digit decreases: publishing and printing, petroleum products, chemical products and wood and wood products (see Table 1-B).

Likewise, VoPI fell 4.5 percent in December 2002 on a month-on-month basis. Slack production in the following sectors contributed largely to the decrease: wood and wood products, leather products, tobacco, transport equipment, petroleum products and machinery excluding electrical (see Annex 1-B).

·  Value of Net Sales exhibits increasing streak

Value of net sales registered its fourth consecutive year-on-year increase with a growth of 13.6 percent in December 2002. This could be largely attributed to the vigorous performance of the following sectors: fabricated metal products, machinery excluding electrical, furniture and fixtures, transport equipment, textile, publishing and printing, electrical machinery, food manufacturing, tobacco, petroleum products and footwear and wearing apparel (see Table 2-A).

Compared to the previous month, value of net sales posted a minimal increase of 2.1 percent in December 2002. Significant increments were depicted in footwear and wearing apparel and beverage sectors (see Table 2-A).

·  Net Sales Volume also moves up

Net sales volume appreciably improved by 6.1 percent compared to the previous month�s year-on-year increase of 1.7 percent. This was brought about by observed increases in the following sectors: machinery excluding electrical, fabricated metal products, furniture and fixtures, textile, leather products, transport equipment, food manufacturing and electrical machinery (see Table 2-B).

On a month-on-month basis, volume of net sales rose by 2.1 percent. This was attributed to the strong performance of footwear and wearing apparel and beverage sectors. (see Table 2-B).

·  Producer's Price Index (PPI) depicts increasing trend

On a year-on-year basis, the Producer�s Price Index (PPI) for total manufacturing went up by 5.9 percent in December 2002. This was mainly due to the double-digit price increases registered by the following sectors: publishing and printing, 26.7%; petroleum products, 16.4%; beverage, 14.0%; wood and wood products, 13.2%; and electrical machinery, 10.0% (see Table 5).

On a month-on-month basis, PPI for total manufacturing in December 2002 remained flat since October of the same year. Only six (6) sectors posted price increases, as follows: food manufacturing, chemical products, basic metals, transport equipment, furniture and fixtures and paper and paper products (see Table 5).

·  Capacity Utilization

In December 2002, average capacity utilization for total manufacturing was estimated at 74.8 percent. Sectors that posted more than 80% capacity utilization rate were the following: petroleum products, machinery excluding electrical, paper and paper products, rubber products and tobacco (see Table 6).

The proportion of responding establishments that operated at full capacity (90%-100%) in December 2002 was 21.8 percent. About 36.8 percent of the responding establishments operated at 70%-89% capacity and 41.5 percent of the establishments operated below 70% capacity.

Distribution of Key Manufacturing Establishments
by Capacity Utilization
Total Manufacturing, December 2002
(In percent)

·  Response Rate

The response rate for December 2002 is 84.5 percent, which corresponds to the retrieval of 490 sample establishments� reports (see Table 7).

Response Rates for Total Manufacturing
(In percent)

·  Technical Notes

Data of nonresponding sample establishments are estimated based on previous records and other available sources. Revisions to the preliminary estimates are done upon receipt of actual reports of late respondents.

Table 1-A. Value of Production Index, November - December 2002
(1994 =100)

Table 1-A. Value of Production Index, November - December 2002 (concluded)
(1994=100)

Note: * - New sectors in the 1994-based series
Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based December 2002 growth rate.
Year-on-year growth rates are computed by dividing the current month index by previous year same month index less 1.
Month-on-month growth rates are computed by dividing the current month index by previous month index less 1.

Table 1-B. Volume of Production Index, November - December 2002
(1994 = 100)

Table 1-B. Volume of Production Index, November - December 2002 (concluded)
(1994=100)

Note: * - New sectors in the 1994-based series
Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based December 2002 growth rate.
Year-on-year growth rates are computed by dividing the current month index by previous year same month index less 1.
Month-on-month growth rates are computed by dividing the current month index by previous month index less 1.

Table 2-A. Value of Net Sales, November - December 2002
(1994=100)

Table 2-A. Value of Net Sales, November - December 2002 (concluded)
(1994=100)

Note: * - New sectors in the 1994-based series
Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based December 2002 growth rate.
Year-on-year growth rates are computed by dividing the current month value of net sales by previous year same month value of net sales less 1.
Month-on-month growth rates are computed by dividing the current month value of net sales by previous month value of net sales less 1.

Table 2-B. Volume of Net Sales, November - December 2002
(1994=100)

Table 2-B. Volume of Net Sales, November - December 2002 (concluded)
(1994=100)

Note: * - New sectors in the 1994-based series
Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based December 2002 growth rate.
Year-on-year growth rates are computed by dividing the current month volume of net sales by previous year same month volume of net sales less 1.
Month-on-month growth rates are computed by dividing the current month volume of net sales by previous month volume of net sales less 1.

Source:   National Statistics Office
                 Manila, Philippines