Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reports that manufacturing production increased by 2.3% year-on-year in July.
The largest positive contributors for the month were petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products, which grew by 6.8% year-on-year and contributed 1.4 percentage points, as well as motor vehicles, parts and accessories, which grew output by 9.5% and contributed one percentage point.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, manufacturing production decreased by 1.6% in July, compared with June, which follows month-on-month changes of 1.2% in June and -1.1% in March.
For the three months ended July 31, seasonally adjusted manufacturing increased by 0.9%, compared with the prior three months.
Seven of the ten manufacturing divisions reported positive growth rates over this period, with the largest positive contributor having been basic iron and steel, nonferrous metal products, metal products and machinery, which grew by 2.7% and contributed 0.6 of a percentage point.
Moreover, seasonally adjusted manufacturing sales increased by 1.2% in July, compared with June, following month-on-month changes of -0.4% in June and -2.7% in May.
Seasonally adjusted manufacturing sales decreased by 1.4% in the three months ended July 31, compared with the previous three months, with the petroleum division being the largest negative contributor with a -9.1% growth rate and a -1.9 percentage point contribution.