According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in March this year South Africa's manufacturing output decreased by 1.3 percent compared to the same month of 2017. In the January-March period, South Africa's manufacturing output fell by 1.7 percent year on year.
In March, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery decreased by 1.7 percent on year-on-year basis. In the given month, the production of basic iron and steel products remained unchanged in South Africa, while the production of structural metal products declined by 10.9 percent, both on year-on-year basis. As compared with February, in March this year the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa increased by 2.6 percent and production of structural metal products rose by one percent.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in March this year decreased by 1.9 percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 11.5 billion ($919.8 million).