Manufacturing production in South Africa rose 1.2% year-on-year in March 2019, after a downwardly revised 0.5% increase in the prior month and against market expectations of a 0.2% drop. It is the strongest gain in manufacturing activity since last October, boosted by petroleum, chemical products, rubber & plastic products (7% vs 2.5% in February); basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products & machinery (3.2% vs -0.1%); radio, television & communication equipment (0.3% vs -6.6%); furniture (2.1% vs -7.3%) and food & beverages (1% vs 3.3%). In contrast, output fell for textiles, clothing, leather & footwear (-5.8% vs -7%); wood & wood products (-3.1% vs -2.1%); glass and non-metallic mineral products (-6.1% vs -2.4%); electrical machinery (-4.3% vs -3.9%) and motor vehicles, parts & accessories (-7% vs 1%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, manufacturing production rebounded 0.8% from a an upwardly revised 2% decline in the previous month. Industrial Production in South Africa averaged 0.96 percent from 1974 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 18.50 percent in May of 1995 and a record low of -23.20 percent in April of 2009.
Industrial Production in South Africa is expected to be 1.50 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Industrial Production in South Africa to stand at -1.20 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the South Africa Manufacturing Production is projected to trend around 1.00 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.