According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in August this year South Africa's manufacturing output increased by 1.5 percent compared to the same month of 2016.
In August, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery increased by 11.3 percent on year-on-year basis. In the given month, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa rose by 24.4 percent, while the production of structural metal products fell by 2.1 percent, both on year-on-year basis. As compared with July, in August this year the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa increased by 0.9 percent and production of structural metal products fell by 3.8 percent.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in August this year increased by 4.4 percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 10.9 billion ($797.46 million).