South Africa: Manufacturing activity drops at sharpest pace since October 2022 in May
Manufacturing production slid 3.2% month on month in seasonally adjusted terms in May (April: +5.2% s.a. mom). May’s result marked the worst reading since October 2022. Looking at the details of the release, May’s downturn was largely driven by a fall in petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products output. Furthermore, production contracted in both the food and beverages, plus basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery sub-sectors.
On an annual basis, manufacturing output declined 0.6% in May, contrasting April’s 4.9% expansion. Accordingly, annual average manufacturing production growth fell to 1.3% in May (April: +1.5%). This signals a worsening trend in the manufacturing sector.