Paglago ng local manufacturing sector, nabalam dahil sa Omicron at bagyong Odette

Naantala ang paglago ng local manufacturing sector sa pagsisimula ng taon dahil sa Omicron variant surge at epekto ng bagyong Odette.

Ayon ito sa ulat ng London-based information at analytics firm na IHS Markit.

Sa kanilang Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) para sa January 2022, ang bansa ay nagtala ng score na 50, o isang “no-change” sa performance ng sektor.

Ang PMI para sa January 2022 ay bumagsak mula sa 51.8 noong Disyembre.

Ayon sa IHS Markit economist na si Shreeya Patel . . . “The latest PMI data revealed an unfortunate start to the year for the Philippines manufacturing sector, with the surge in case numbers and Typhoon Odette hitting large parts of the nation.”

Sinabi ni Patel, na ang domestic at international demand ay kapwa bumagal noong isang buwan, at maging ang abilidad ng mga manufacturer na gumawa ng mga produkto.

Aniya . . . “Material shortages and delivery delays were also prominent, continuing pressure on vendor performance.”

Sa kabila naman ng record-high Covid-19 cases, iniulat ng IHS Markit survey na bumagal ang insidente ng pagbabawas ng mga trabaho o “job shedding.”

Matatandaan na ang Metro Manila at mga kalapit na lalawigan ay isinailalim sa Alert Level 3 mula January 3-31, kung saan karamihan sa mga sektor ay namalaging bukas nguni’t sa mas mababang operating capacity.

Ayon kay Patel . . . “The price pressures for manufacturers started to ease last month, but they were looking into increasing selling prices at a quicker rate in a bid to secure profits.”

Dagdag pa niya . . . “Whilst the full impact of the typhoon and the Omicron variant are unknown, it’s clear production will certainly be impacted in the coming months as companies adapt once again. Firms will hope for a quick recovery and remain prepared through advance ordering strategies.”