BY ALBERT CASTRO

The value and volume of manufacturing production went down for the third straight month in February, reflecting continuing weak demand.

The National Statistics Office’s monthly integrated survey of selected industries placed the contraction in value at 18.9 percent in February. This was on the back of a contraction of 21.1 percent in January and of 8 percent in December.

Volume declined by 21.1 percent in February, following a decline by 23.8 percent in January and 14.2 percent in December.

Analysts said the drop in value and volume of manufacturing production was expected.

"We are still experiencing the so called excess capacity of bigger economies. But somehow, the decline is not that bad. If you look at the figures, lots of economies are softening up. We expect a better picture toward the yearend," said Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Holdings.

The volume of production index for February saw double-digit declines in 18 major sectors.

These were petroleum products, leather products, footwear and wearing apparel, basic metals, miscellaneous manufactures, transport equipment, machinery except electrical, publishing and printing, electrical machinery, paper and paper products, textiles, tobacco products, fabricated metal products, furniture and fixtures, food manufacturing, and chemical products.

The value of output also declined by double digits in 16 out of 20 major sectors.

Sales volume declined by 22.8 percent brought about by the poor performances of all the major sectors, except for non-metallic mineral products which reported an increase of 9.8 percent in sales.

Sales value likewise declined 20.7 percent.

Among the 16 major sectors that reported decreases in sales, 11 sectors contributed significantly to the decline.

These were leather products, petroleum products, basic metals, machinery except electrical, furniture and fixtures, miscellaneous manufactures, textiles, electrical machinery, transport equipment, paper and paper products, and rubber and plastic products.