According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in April this year South Africa's manufacturing output increased by 1.1 percent compared to the same month of 2017.
In April, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery increased by 0.3 percent on year-on-year basis. In the given month, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa fell by 0.3 percent, while the production of structural metal products declined by eight 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 two percent and production of structural metal products was down by 5.1 percent.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in April this year decreased by 11.2 percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 10.05 billion ($761.6 million).