Philippine industrial production likely posted a double-digit growth in March, as all subsectors posted hikes in output, according to the think tank arm of international credit-ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service.
In its recent views on Asia Pacific data releases for the upcoming week, Moody’s Analytics said industrial production may have expanded by 11.4 percent in March.
The country’s industrial production grew by 1.7 percent in February this year. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is set to release official data on factory output on Wednesday.
“Manufacturing strength has been fairly broad-based among the subsectors, with food production doing particularly well,” Moody’s Analytics said.
“We look for electronics output to continue to rally in the coming months because of improved external conditions. Even with this, the main driver of production growth will be booming domestic demand, as rising incomes and infrastructure projects drive consumption and investment,” it added.
The optimism of Moody’s Analytics has been backed by positive outlook given by IHS Markit for the country’s manufacturing sector throughout the year.
International think tank IHS Markit is a partner of regional business media organization Nikkei in compiling Asia’s monthly Purchasing Managers Index (PMI).
IHS Markit economist Bernard Aw remained optimistic of the Philippine manufacturing’s growth in the near-term, saying there were further signs that growth momentum will be sustained for the rest of the quarter, particularly as forward-looking indicators, such as new orders and expectations, continued to show “robust trends”.
Aw also said reports of increased construction activity, together with greater public infrastructure spending is expected to support the manufacturing industry in the coming months.
In January data from the PSA showed the value of factory output rose by 11.6 percent, slower than the 25.9 percent recorded in the same period last year.
In terms of volume the PSA said the year-on-year hike was at 9.3 percent. The agency said this was mainly due to the improved performance of 14 major sectors, with significant increases noted in nine major sectors led by wood and wood products.
Other major sectors that recorded two-digit growth were basic metals, footwear and wearing apparel, transport equipment, petroleum products, food manufacturing and fabricated metal products.
Image credits: ILO in Asia and the Pacific