According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in April this year South Africa's manufacturing output decreased by two percent compared to the same month of 2014. In the January-April period, South Africa's manufacturing output increased by 0.1 percent year on year.
The reasons for the year-on-year decrease in manufacturing output in April included the 4.5 percent decrease in output in the basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery division, the 2.8 percent decrease in the petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products sector, the decline of 2.3 percent in the wood, wood products, paper, publishing and printing sector and the 15.3 percent decrease in the radio, television and communication apparatus and professional equipment sector.
In April, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa decreased by 2.1, while the production of structural metal products fell by 10 percent, both on year-on-year basis. As compared with March, in April this year the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa decreased by 3.9 percent and production of structural metal products fell by 11.1 percent.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in April this year decreased by 20.9 percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 8.78 billion ($704.7 million), while the actual sales value of basic iron and steel products fell by 16.8 percent year on year.