According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in February this year South Africa's manufacturing output decreased by 3.6 percent compared to the same month of 2016.
In February, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery decreased by 0.7 percent on year-on-year basis. In the given month, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa rose by five percent, while the production of structural metal products declined by 9.8 percent, both on year-on-year basis. As compared with January, in February this year the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa increased by 3.9 percent and production of structural metal products rose by 3.8 percent.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in February this year decreased by 11.5 percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 10.02 billion ($746.67 million).