MANILA – As the government has eased quarantine measures in June, the country’s manufacturing sector is recovering close to stable condition, the Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey of IHS Markit reported.
In its PMI report released Wednesday, the country’s manufacturing score rose to 49.7 in June from 40.1 in May.
Indices below 50 show deterioration of manufacturing activities, while scores above 50 reflect improvement.
"The change in government Covid-19 (coronavirus diseases 2019) rules to the general community quarantine (GCQ) helped the manufacturing sector make large strides towards stability in June,” IHS Markit economist David Owen said.
The survey said companies increased their output as they reopened their operations for the first time since being shut down during a stricter enhanced community quarantine.
It added overall demand from domestic and international markets improved in June compared to past months.
Although new orders both from domestic and overseas customers are still down, the slowdown decelerated its speed last month, IHS Markit said.
“Signs from new orders and export orders data are encouraging, but the recovery may still be gradual as the pandemic continues and even accelerates in some regions," Owen added.
However, employment continues to decline despite the recovery of output.
“While some firms increased workforces in order to improve capacity, many respondents chose to keep employment at minimal levels and did not replace workers leaving for other roles,” the IHS Markit survey added.
It said firms become optimistic to regain customers and resume plans to develop new products with the government’s relaxed quarantine measures. (PNA)
