According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in May this year South Africa's manufacturing output increased by four percent compared to the same month last year.
In May, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery increased by 1.5 percent on year-on-year basis. In the given month, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa rose by 21.6 percent, while the production of structural metal products decreased by 3.7 percent, both on year-on-year basis. As compared with April, in May this year the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa increased by 3.6 percent and production of structural metal products grew by 9.8 percent.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in May this year increased by 3.8 percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 9.49 billion ($662.4 million).