South Africa’s manufacturing sector is reporting output expanded 1.8% year on year in December. The data for November dipped 4.1% according to the statistics agency .
Factory production was down 0.1% in December month on month and rose 5.2% in the three months to end-December, Statistics South Africa reports.
According to Stats SA, the seasonally-adjusted manufacturing production decreased by 0.1% in December 2020 compared with November 2020. This followed month-on-month changes of -0.6% in November 2020 and 2.5% in October 2020.
In 2020, total manufacturing production decreased by 11% compared with 2019. All ten manufacturing divisions reported negative growth rates over this period. The largest contributions were made by Basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery (-13.1% and contributing -2.4 percentage points); motor vehicles, parts and accessories and other transport equipment (-26% and contributing -2.1 percentage points); petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products (-9.1% and contributing -2 percentage points); wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing (-13.3% and contributing -1.4 percentage points); and food and beverages (-4.2% and contributing -1.2 percentage points).