According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa, in February this year the country's manufacturing output fell by 2.9 percent compared to the same month of 2012, while the seasonally adjusted manufacturing production is estimated to have decreased by 3.1 percent compared to January.
The year-on-year decline was mainly due to the 8.2 percent decrease in the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery. The seasonally adjusted production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa decreased by 23.3 percent year on year in February, while the actual production index of basic iron and steel products saw a decrease of 13.7 percent compared to January. Meanwhile, South Africa's motor vehicle production in February increased by 9.8 percent compared to the same month of the previous year.
For basic iron and steel products, the estimated seasonally adjusted sales of manufactured products (at current prices) in February increased by 3.4 percent month on month, amounting to ZAR 8.7 billion ($972 million).
