According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in December last year South Africa's manufacturing output increased by 0.1 percent compared to the same month of 2017.
In December, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery decreased by 2.8 percent on year-on-year basis. In the given month, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa fell by 3.3 percent, while the production of structural metal products was down by 10.7 percent, when compared to the same month of 2017. In December last year, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa decreased by 3.7 percent, while the production of structural metal products in South Africa was down by 2.9 percent, both on month-on-month basis.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in December last year fell by 26.2 percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 9.28 billion ($674.25 million).