·  Value of Production Index (VaPI) rebounds

Value of Production Index (VaPI) of the manufacturing industry improved by 3.4 percent in December 2003 compared with a year-ago figure, according to the preliminary results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI). Significant improvements were observed in the following sectors: basic metals, publishing and printing, paper and paper products, wood and wood products, rubber products, and textile (see Table 1-A).

However, VaPI's month-on-month performance for total manufacturing remained steady in December 2003. Sectors with double-digit increases were the following: wood and wood products, leather products, furniture and fixtures, publishing and printing, footwear and wearing apparel, beverage and basic metals (see Table 1-A).

·  Volume of Production Index (VoPI) still in its downtrend

Volume of Production Index (VoPI) declined by 3.1 percent in December 2003 vis-à-vis the year ago figure. Sectors which contributed largely to the slowdown in production were the following:leather products, tobacco, footwear and wearing apparel, nonmetallic mineral products, electrical machinery and transport equipment (see Table 1-B).

Likewise, VoPI weakened by 0.5 percent on a month-on-month basis in December 2003. Double-digit decreases were reported by the following sectors: miscellaneous manufactures, machinery, excluding electrical, transport equipment, textile and rubber products (see Annex 1-B).

·  Value of Net Sales continues to gain

Year-on-year growth in the Value of Net Sales continued at a slower rate of 7.3 percent in December 2003. Significant increments were reported by the following sectors: petroleum products, basic metals, fabricated metal products, publishing and printing, nonmetallic mineral products, miscellaneous manufactures and machinery, excluding electrical (see Table 2-A).

Value of Net Sales on a monthly basis gained momentum in December 2003 with a 7.3 percent increase compared to the previous month�s (revised) decrease of 2.2 percent. This was due to the favorable demand noted in the following major sectors: fabricated metal products, tobacco, footwear and wearing apparel, furniture and fixtures, food manufacturing, beverage, publishing and printing, petroleum products and transport equipment (see Table 2-A).

·  Net Sales Volume follows a downtrend

Net Sales Volume in December 2003 on a year-on-year basis registered a decline of 0.3 percent. Major sectors which contributed to the decrease were the following: leather products, footwear and wearing apparel, electrical machinery, wood and wood products and paper and paper products (see Table 2-B).

Meanwhile, Volume of Net Sales on a month-on-month basis edged higher at 6.9 percent in December 2003. This was attributed by the strong sales performance of the following sectors:fabricated metal products, tobacco, footwear and wearing apparel, furniture and fixtures, food manufacturing, beverage, publishing and printing, transport equipment andpetroleum products (see Table 2-B)..

·  Producer's Price Index (PPI) slightly increases

The Producer's Price Index (PPI) for total manufacturing continued to grow at a slower rate of 6.8 percent in December 2003 compared to the previous month�s year-on-year (revised) figure of 8.2 percent. Cement, a sub-sector of nonmetallic mineral products posted the highest growth of 24.8 percent. Major sectors which registered double-digit increments were the following:footwear and wearing apparel, electrical machinery, nonmetallic mineral products,paper and paper products, leather products and petroleum products (see Table 5).

On a monthly basis, PPI for total manufacturing picked up by 0.5 percent in December 2003. The top five sectors that contributed to the increase were the following: textile, wood and wood products, nonmetallic mineral products, basic metals and petroleum products (see Table 5).

·  Capacity Utilization

Average capacity utilization in December 2003 for total manufacturing was estimated at 78.2 percent. Sectors that posted more than 80% capacity utilization rate were the following:machinery, excluding electrical, basic metals, paper and paper products, miscellaneous manufactures, electrical machinery and petroleum products (see Table 6).

The proportion of responding establishments that operated at full capacity (90%-100%) in December 2003 was 13.4 percent. About 51.2 percent of the responding establishments operated at 70%-89% capacity and 35.4 percent of the establishments operated below 70% capacity.

Distribution of Key Manufacturing Establishments
by Capacity Utilization
Total Manufacturing, December 2003
(In percent)

                                            Note: Details may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

·  Response Rate

The response rate for December 2003 is 89.2 percent, which corresponds to the retrieval of 496 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 2003
(1994 =100)

TABLE 1-A. VALUE OF PRODUCTION INDEX, November - December 2003 
(concluded)
(1994=100)

Note: * - new sectors in the 1994-based series

Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based December 2003 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 2003
(1994 = 100)

TABLE 1-B. VOLUME OF PRODUCTION INDEX, November - December 2003
(concluded)
(1994=100)

Note: * - new sectors in the 1994-based series

Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based December 2003 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 2003
(1994=100)

TABLE 2-A. VALUE OF NET SALES, November - December 2003 (concluded)
(1994=100)

Note: * - new sectors in the 1994-based series

Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based December 2003 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 2003
(1994=100)

TABLE 2-B. VOLUME OF NET SALES, November - December 2003 (concluded)
(1994=100)

Note: * - new sectors in the 1994-based series 
 
1/ - Less than 0.1 percent decrease.

Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based December 2003 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.

Source:   National Statistics Office
                 Manila, Philippines