According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in April this year South Africa's manufacturing output increased by 2.9 percent compared to the same month last year.
In April, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery decreased by 2.1 percent on year-on-year basis. In the given month, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa rose by 0.2 percent, while the production of structural metal products decreased by 5.3 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 increased by two percent and production of structural metal products narrowed by 3.5 percent.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in April this year increased by seven percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 9.24 billion ($608.1 million).