There are two reasons to be excited about two recent manufacturing reports. First, covering the results of a detailed 2021 survey, the reports provide provincial- and district-level data. Second, they offer detailed insight into the state of the manufacturing industry in South Africa in terms of employment, finances, and the quantities of manufactured products. The   read more »

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                          20 July 2023 Statistician-General to release the 2021 manufacturing report The Statistician-General of South Africa, Mr Risenga Maluleke, will release the manufacturing report at a virtual media briefing to be held on Monday, 24 July 2023. The manufacturing report measures expenditure, production, income and spread of the manufacturing sector in the country. The   read more »

The manufacturing industry rebounded in 2018, recording its highest annual growth rate in five years. The food and beverages and automotive divisions were the major drivers behind the rise. However, manufacturers in communication equipment, electrical machinery and clothing failed to perform. Manufacturing production increased by 1,2% in 2018 compared with 2017, according to Stats SA’s   read more »

Recently released data from Stats SA provide fresh insight into South Africa’s manufacturing industry. In 2014, Stats SA conducted a large sample survey of the industry, covering about 15 000 enterprises. The results of the survey – containing detailed information on income, employment, capital expenditure, salaries and production – were recently published in two reports: Manufacturing   read more »

Media advisory                                                22 September 2016 Statistician-General releases statistics on the performance and employment levels in manufacturing and construction industries.   The Statistician-General of South Africa, Dr Pali Lehohla, will release reports on the performance of the Manufacturing and Construction industries at a media briefing to be held on Monday, 26 September 2016 in Pretoria.     read more »

Industry growth rates depend on many factors, and the South African manufacturing industry is no exception. The state of the local and global economy and the rand exchange rate are some of the factors that are watched closely when assessing the performance of manufacturing production.   Figure 1 shows the severe impact of the global   read more »

The South African economy was hit hard by the global economic crisis of 2008/2009. The country’s manufacturing industry contracted sharply, and its subsequent recovery has been insufficient for the volume of manufacturing production to return to its pre-crisis level. Figure 1 shows SA’s manufacturing production (volume) compared with OECD industrial production.1 Preliminary manufacturing data for   read more »

Manufacturing production increased by 5,6% year-on-year in July 2015, driven mostly by a 39,6% year-on-year production rise in the automotive industry and a 17,4% year-on-year rise in the metals and machinery industry. It would be tempting to rejoice in response to these pronounced increases, but the figures don’t tell the whole story. These increases do   read more »

South Africa’s manufacturing industry is dominated by three sectors, namely food & beverages, petroleum & chemical products1, and metals & machinery2. Together these three sectors account for two thirds of total manufacturing production. Manufacturing production showed very little change in 2014 compared with 2013. Stats SA’s preliminary estimate recorded a slight contraction of 0,1%, following   read more »

The manufacturing industry recorded the third consecutive quarter-on-quarter contraction in 2014, shrinking by 3,4% in the third quarter of 2014. In the second quarter manufacturing posted a growth rate of -4,0% and in the first quarter -6,4%.  The other industry that recorded a negative growth rate in the third quarter was electricity, gas and water,   read more »