Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reports that manufacturing production decreased by 4.3% year-on-year in September.
The largest negative contributors for the month were food and beverages, which declined by 10.5% and contributed -2.6 percentage points and motor vehicles, parts and accessories, which contracted by 19.7% and contributed -2.3 percentage points.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, manufacturing production decreased by 0.5% in September, compared with August, which follows month-on-month changes of 0.4% in August and -1.6% in July.
For the three months ended September 30, seasonally adjusted manufacturing decreased by 1.2%, compared with the prior three months.
Eight of the ten manufacturing divisions reported negative growth rates over this period, with the largest negative contributor having been food and beverages, having contracted by 3.1% and contributing -0.7 of a percentage point, as well as the petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products segment, which declined by 2.1% and contributed -0.4 of a percentage point.
Moreover, seasonally adjusted manufacturing sales increased by 2.2% in the third quarter, compared with the second quarter, to which the petroleum segment contributed positively with 7.7% growth and a 1.6 percentage point contribution, as well as the motor vehicles segment, which grew by 6.8% and contributed one percentage point over this period.