According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa, in August this year the country's manufacturing output rose slightly by 0.2 percent compared to the same month of 2012, while the seasonally adjusted manufacturing production for the three months ended August 2013 is estimated to have increased by 0.2 percent compared to the previous three months.
The year-on-year increase in August this year was mainly due to the 3.5 percent increase in the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products and metal products. The production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa increased by 2.8 percent year on year in August, while the seasonally adjusted production index of basic iron and steel products saw a decline of 9.1 percent compared to July.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in August decreased by 6.2 percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 8.77 billion ($884.66 million), while the actual sales value of basic iron and steel products rose 8.2 percent year on year.
