Caused by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed in the Philippines to contain the spread of Covid-19, manufacturing in the country shrank to its lowest level last month. The latest manufacturing purchasing managers’ index released on Monday showed that last month’s PMI further slid to a record low of 31.6.
Production fell rapidly, while new orders and export sales declined at record paces. Although the rate of decrease softened from March, job shedding continued. Lockdown measures were extended throughout April. This caused most firms unable to operate at normal capacity. With the rate of contraction by far the quickest since January 2016, production levels collapsed.
On manufacturing demand at the start of Q2, the lockdown also had a large impact as restricted activity led consumers to limit spending and clients to cancel orders. Due to company closures and global measures to contain the virus, exports fell drastically. As a result, total new orders plunged at the fastest pace seen in the series history.
Compared to March when the ECQ began, the number of layoffs eased in April, but job shedding last month remained steep.
