Manufacturing production declined by 2.9% year-on-year in April, marking the sector’s steepest annual contraction in a year and reversing an upwardly revised 1.5% increase recorded in March.
South Africa’s productive sectors delivered a mixed performance at the start of the second quarter of 2026, with a strong rebound in mining helping to offset renewed weakness in manufacturing, highlighting the uneven nature of the country’s economic recovery.
Data released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) on Thursday showed that manufacturing production contracted sharply in April, while mining output recorded its fifth consecutive month of growth, buoyed largely by platinum group metals (PGMs).
Manufacturing production declined by 2.9% year-on-year in April, marking the sector’s steepest annual contraction in a year and reversing an upwardly revised 1.5% increase recorded in March. On a month-on-month basis, seasonally adjusted production fell by 2.7%, the largest monthly decline since May 2024.
The poor start to the second quarter follows an already weak first quarter, during which manufacturing activity contracted by 0.8%, extending a trend of declining industrial output.
