Manufacturing production decreased by 3.5% in November 2020 compared with November 2019, according to data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
The largest contributions to this decrease were made by the following divisions:
• petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products (-9.6% and contributing -2.1 percentage points);
• food and beverages (-2.9% and contributing -0.9 of a percentage point); and
• basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery (-3.9% and contributing -0.7 of a percentage point).
Seasonally adjusted manufacturing production decreased by 1.3% in November 2020 compared with October 2020. This followed month-on-month changes of 3.2% in October 2020 and 2.8% in September 2020.
Seasonally adjusted manufacturing production increased by 8.9% in the three months ended November 2020 compared with the previous three months. All ten manufacturing divisions reported positive growth rates over this period.
The largest contributions were made by the following divisions:
• food and beverages (7.9% and contributing 2.5 percentage points);
• motor vehicles, parts and accessories and other transport equipment (30.3% and contributing 1.9 percentage points);
• basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery (7.4% and contributing 1.4 percentage points); and
• wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing (12.6% and contributing 1.3 percentage points).
