Growth in manufacturing activity in the Philippines slowed in February in terms of both volume and value of production, according to newly released government statistics.

Volume of manufacturing production in February grew from year-before levels by 9.6 percent, down from 12.6 percent registered in January, the National Statistics Office (NSO) disclosed.

On the other hand, value of production in February rose by 11.2 percent, slower against the 16.7 percent in January, the NSO added.

The NSO report did not cite the reasons behind the reduced growth rates but the numbers reflected in part the prolonged power outages experienced by factories in Mindanao during the survey period, as well as the effects of increased costs of manufacturing operations brought about by a series of increases in prices of petroleum products.

The fallout from the parts shortages that hit some other industries due to production dislocations among suppliers in Japan was not yet reflected in this week's NSO report, indicating that the growth slowdown could be seen in future surveys.

NSO does not report nominal manufacturing production volumes and values, only the rates of increase or decrease in the aggregate and sectoral totals. The NSO monthly reports are based on surveys of 2,000 manufacturing establishments that employ at least 20 workers each.

Of the 11 manufacturing industries that posted year-on-year increases in output volume for February, miscellaneous manufactures recorded the highest rate of 89.7 percent, followed by producers of furniture and fixtures makers with 33.5 percent, beverages with 27.9 percent, chemical products 17.5 percent, electrical machinery 16.5 percent, and footwear and wearing apparel 14.2 percent, with the other sectors eking out single-digit growth rates.

The growth slowdown in volume of production was felt most in these sectors: fabricated metal products, from 28.1 percent in January to 5.6 percent in February; electrical machinery, from 35.5 percent to 16.5 percent; beverages, from 36.5 percent to 27.9 percent; and petroleum products, from a growth of 7.9 percent in January to just 4.3 percent (the slowest increase) in February, according to the NSO data.

The sectors that recorded year-on-year declines in February output were: tobacco products, with a 68.6 percent drop; wood and wood products, 27.7 percent; non-electrical machinery, 25.1 percent, publishing and printing, 20.5 percent; paper and paper products, also with 20.5 percent; and non-metallic mineral products, with 6.1 percent rate of decline.

In terms of value of production, the three biggest rate of increase was tallied by the miscellaneous manufactures sector, 44.4 percent; food manufacturing, by 3.9 percent; and rubber and plastic products, with 3.5 percent.

- J. Galang