According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in December last year South Africa's manufacturing output increased by 0.4 percent compared to the same month of 2014. In 2015, South Africa's manufacturing output remained stable year on year.
In December, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery decreased by 6.2 percent on year-on-year basis. In December, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa fell by 7.2 percent, while the production of structural metal products rose by 0.5 percent, both on year-on-year basis. As compared with November, in December last year the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa increased by 12.1 percent and production of structural metal products grew by 4.3 percent.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in December last year decreased by 3.4 percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 8.0 billion ($507.47 million).