South Africa’s manufacturing output shrank by 17.1 percent year-on-year in volume terms in May, a sign that recession continues to cripple South Africa’s manufacturing industry.
By Ian Armitage
South African manufacturing contracted for an eighth consecutive month in May as the country suffers its first recession in almost 17 years.
Production slumped 17.1 percent from a year earlier after dropping a revised 21.8 percent in April, according to Statistics SA, the Pretoria-based statistics office.
Compared to May last year, manufacturing production in volume terms rose by a seasonally-adjusted 1 percent.
Factory output was down 3 percent in the three months to May compared with the previous three months, also on a seasonally-adjusted basis.
Statistics SA also revealed that the country’s gold output fell 10.5 percent in May 2009 compared with the same month last year.
CUT BACKS
Manufacturers such as ArcelorMittal South Africa have scaled back production as the global recession cuts export demand, while automakers including the troubled GM have reduced output in South Africa, as vehicle sales continue to plummet.