https://www.engineeringnews.co.za
Business|Industrial|Lifting|Manufacturing|Mining|Ports|Transnet|Manufacturing |Operations
Business|Industrial|Lifting|Manufacturing|Mining|Ports|Transnet|Manufacturing |Operations
business|industrial|lifting|manufacturing|mining|ports|transnet|manufacturing-industry-term|operations

Absa PMI declines considerably during July

2nd August 2021

By: Tasneem Bulbulia

Senior Contributing Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

Amid several supply-side shocks during the month, the seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) plunged to 43.5 points in July, signalling that the output recovery in the manufacturing sector was set back notably at the start of the third quarter, Absa reports.

The PMI is compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) and sponsored by Absa. It is based on the PMI produced by the Institute for Supply Management in the US.

From an elevated 57.4 in June, the headline PMI suffered a record single month decline of almost 14 points.

The PMI shows that July was a particularly challenging month, with the broader economy and the manufacturing sector hit by several supply-side and confidence shocks.

These include a severe Covid-19 third wave, the associated adjusted Level 4 lockdown restrictions for a large part of the month, as well as unprecedented looting and arson attacks in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng.

The riots disrupted supply chains, industrial output and the demand for manufactured goods.

Moreover, the manufacturing sector may also have been negatively impacted on by the recent cyberattack on Transnet, which resulted in operations at the country’s major ports temporarily grinding to a halt.

The July PMI reading suggests these factors vastly outweigh the positive spillovers to parts of the manufacturing sector from robust South African mining sector activity amid elevated commodity prices.

The PMI says the severe adverse impact of these events is best highlighted in the business activity and new-sales orders indices of the PMI, both of which declined dramatically in July.

The business activity index plunged by an unprecedented 30 index points during July, to 26.6.

The new-sales orders index fell by more than 25 points to 31.9.

After gaining some ground in June, the employment index declined to below the key 50 neutral mark in July, to 47.6.

The inventories index also saw a big decline in July, dropped for the fist time since January to below the 50-point mark, at 39.1.

After increasing notably in June, the supplier deliveries index rose further during July, to 72.5.

The purchasing price index declined for a fourth consecutive month to 77.

After the difficult month, the lifting of some of the Level 4 restrictions and calm returning following the unrest should lift factory output from August, says Absa.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

Showroom

Booyco Electronics
Booyco Electronics

Booyco Electronics, South African pioneer of Proximity Detection Systems, offers safety solutions for underground and surface mining, quarrying,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Magni SA
Magni SA

Magni SA is committed to developing the safest Telehandlers available to our customers for underground and surface mining, construction, forestry,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Photo of Martin Creamer
On-The-Air (15/03/2024)
15th March 2024 By: Martin Creamer

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.067 0.111s - 140pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now