·  Value of Production Index (VaPI) moves up further

Value of Production Index (VaPI) of the manufacturing industry in March 2003 grew by 17.6 percent over the year-ago figure, according to the preliminary results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI). Thirteen (13) sectors which exhibited double-digit increases largely contributed to the upsurge in production, namely: basic metals, petroleum products, wood and wood products, machinery excluding electrical, rubber products, footwear and wearing apparel, food manufacturing, textile, miscellaneous manufactures, nonmetallic mineral products, furniture and fixtures, transport equipmentand publishing and printing (see Table 1-A).

On a month-on-month comparison, VaPI similarly rose by 11.7 percent in March 2003. The increase could be attributed to the double-digit growth rates registered by the following sectors:petroleum products, leather products, wood and wood products, transport equipment, miscellaneous manufactures, machinery excluding electrical, chemical products, fabricated metal products, furniture and fixtures and tobacco (see Table 1-A).

·  Volume of Production Index (VoPI) grows by 7.3 percent

Volume of Production Index (VoPI) in March 2003 posted a 7.3 percent growth on a year-on-year basis. Double-digit increments were observed in eleven (11) sectors, namely: wood and wood products, basic metals, machinery excluding electrical, rubber products, petroleum products, nonmetallic mineral products, textile, transport equipment, food manufacturing, miscellaneous manufactures and publishing and printing (see Table 1-B).

On a monthly basis, VoPI significantly improved by 11.6 percent in March 2003. Major contributors to the uptrend were the following: leather products, petroleum products, wood and wood products, transport equipment, miscellaneous manufactures, machinery excluding electrical, chemical products, furniture and fixtures, fabricated metal productsand tobacco (see Annex 1-B).

·  Value of Net Sales registers high growth rate

Value of Net Sales continued to register gains on a year-on-year basis with a 26.5 percent growth in March 2003. Basic metals topped all sectors with the highest growth of 91.3 percent. Other sectors that posted double-digit increases were petroleum products, machinery excluding electrical, furniture and fixtures, wood and wood products, publishing and printing, paper and paper products, food manufacturing, textile, footwear and wearing apparel, chemical products and fabricated metal products (see Table 2-A).

Value of Net Sales on a monthly basis likewise recorded a significant increase of 18.8 percent in March 2003. Fourteen (14) sectors largely contributed to the notable improvement in sales: basic metals, beverage, petroleum products, leather products, furniture and fixtures, electrical machinery, machinery excluding electrical, wood and wood products, paper and paper products, chemical products, tobacco, transport equipment, nonmetallic mineral products and fabricated metal products (see Table 2-A).

·  Net Sales Volume stretches increasing trend

On a year-on-year basis, Net Sales Volume continued to show upbeat trend with a growth of 13.0 percent in March 2003. Sectors that boosted overall sales performance were the following:machinery excluding electrical, basic metals, wood and wood products, petroleum products, publishing and printing, textile, nonmetallic mineral products, furniture and fixtures, food manufacturing and fabricated metal products (see Table 2-B).

On a month-on-month basis, Volume of Net Sales bounced back with an 18.4 percent jump in March 2003 from a 0.8 slip in February 2003. Double-digit increases were observed in the following sectors: basic metals, beverage, leather products, electrical machinery, petroleum products, furniture and fixtures, machinery excluding electrical, wood and wood products, paper and paper products, chemical products, tobacco and transport equipment (see Table 2-B).

·  Producer's Price Index (PPI) continues to rise

Producers Price Index (PPI) for total manufacturing continued to post year-on-year increases with a 9.6 percent rise in March 2003. Petroleum products which reported a 29.7 percent growth led all sectors that exhibited double-digit increases. Other sectors with double-digit increments were the following: paper and paper products, chemical products, footwear and wearing apparel, basic metals, furniture and fixtures, leather products and electrical machinery(see Table 5).

On the other hand, PPI on a month-on-month basis for total manufacturing registered a minimal increase of 0.1 percent in March 2003. The top five sectors with increased growth rates werenonmetallic mineral products, petroleum products, fabricated metal products, miscellaneous manufactures and basic metals (see Table 5).

·  Capacity Utilization

In March 2003, average capacity utilization for total manufacturing was estimated at 78.5 percent. Sectors that posted more than 80 percent capacity utilization rate were the following: machinery excluding electrical, miscellaneous manufactures, footwear and wearing apparel, paper and paper products, chemical products, petroleum products, rubber products andelectrical machinery (see Table 6).

The proportion of responding establishments that operated at full capacity (90 percent-100 percent) in March 2003 was 22.4 percent. About 45.4 percent of the responding establishments operated at 70 percent-89 percent capacity and 32.1 percent of the establishments operated below 70 percent capacity.

DISTRIBUTION OF KEY MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS
BY CAPACITY UTILIZATION
TOTAL MANUFACTURING, MARCH 2003
(In percent)

·  Response Rate

The response rate for March 2003 is 88.3 percent, which corresponds to the retrieval of 491 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, FEBRUARY - MARCH 2003
(1994 =100)

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

Note: * - new sectors in the 1994-based series 
Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based January 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, FEBRUARY - MARCH 2003
(1994 = 100)

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

Note: * - new sectors in the 1994-based series 
Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based January 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, FEBRUARY - MARCH 2003
(1994=100)

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

Note: * - new sectors in the 1994-based series 
Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based January 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, FEBRUARY - MARCH 2003
(1994=100)

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

Note: * - new sectors in the 1994-based series 
Sectors are ranked according to their contribution to the overall 1994-based January 2003 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