SA March manufacturing production up 3.8% y/y

Manufacturing production finally turned positive in March after contracting in both January and February‚ Statistics SA figures showed on Tuesday, 12 May 2015.

Output rose by 3.8% in March 2015 compared with March 2014 after contracting by a slightly revised 0.4% (0.5%) year-on-year in February.

Barclays said in a research note earlier that March had not been particularly badly affected by load shedding.

The 3.8% increase was mainly due to higher production in the food and beverages; petroleum and chemical products; and motor vehicles manufacturing divisions.

Seasonally adjusted manufacturing production‚ however‚ fell by 0.6% in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the fourth quarter of 2014‚ with six of the ten manufacturing divisions having reported negative growth rates over the period.

The largest negative contributors were the petroleum and chemical products; radio‚ television and communication apparatus; and wood and wood products‚ paper‚ publishing and printing manufacturing divisions.

Source: BDpro via I-Net Bridge