SA’s manufacturing sector still stifled, depressed

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Experts says despite positive figures in manufacturing for the month of November, the sector is still stifled and depressed.

Manufacturing production rose by 1.9% in November, on a year-on-year basis.

This is according to data released by Statistics South Africa.

In the three months ended November, on a seasonally adjusted basis, manufacturing production declined by 0.5%.

Econometrix Chief Economist Azar Jammine says, “We had a 0.5% contraction on a seasonally adjusted basis which suggests that the manufacturing sector is really not picking up much momentum but at least as reflected from the positive year-on-year figure. The sector is not collapsing, it is not declining dramatically further from where it was in part that’s due to the fact that a year ago, the demise of the petroleum industry in South Africa depressed manufacturing.”