South Africa: Manufacturing production rebounds strongly in January
Manufacturing production output expanded 2.9% in year-on-year terms in January, contrasting the 0.2% decline recorded in December. January’s result marked the quickest pace of growth since June 2021. Looking at the details of the release, the improvement was largely due to rebounding activity in the food and beverages, and in the basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery sub-sectors. Moreover, activity in the wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing sub-sector accelerated.
On a monthly basis, manufacturing production grew 1.9% in seasonally-adjusted terms in January, moderating from December’s 2.5% increase. Still, annual average manufacturing production increased to 7.2% in January (December. +6.4%). This signals an improving trend in the manufacturing sector.