Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reveals that manufacturing production decreased by 3.3% year-on-year in January.

The petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastics division was the largest negative contributor, declining by 9.1% and subtracting 2.1 percentage points from overall manufacturing growth, says Stats SA industry statistics director Nicolai Claassen.

He notes that other divisions that experienced a poor month include communication and professional equipment, textiles and clothing, electrical machinery and food and beverages.

The automotive division continued a downward trend, recording its ninth consecutive month of year-on-year decline.

Classen explains that its weak performance was mainly owing to a decrease in the production of parts and accessories for motor vehicles.

Meanwhile, three divisions expanded in January, including wood, paper, printing and publishing; glass and non-metallic mineral products; and furniture and manufacturing not elsewhere classified.

The largest positive contribution was made by the wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing division of 5.6% and contributing 0.6 of a percentage point.

Growth was flat for iron, steel, metal products and machinery.

On a month-on-month basis, Claassen says seasonally adjusted manufacturing production edged higher by 0.2% in January.

This followed month-on-month changes of -2.2% in December and -1.2% in November.

Seasonally adjusted manufacturing production decreased by 1.8% in the three months ended January, compared with the previous three months.

Eight of the ten manufacturing divisions reported negative growth rates over this period.

The largest negative contributions were reported for petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products, -3.6% and contributing -0.8 of a percentage point; basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery, -3.4% and contributing -0.7 of a percentage point; and motor vehicles, parts and accessories and other transport equipment, -4.6% and contributing -0.4 of a percentage point.

Seasonally adjusted manufacturing sales decreased by 0.8% in January, compared with December. This followed month-on-month changes of 1.1% in December and -3% in November.

Seasonally adjusted manufacturing sales decreased by 0.9% in the three months ended January, compared with the previous three months.

The largest negative contributions were made by the basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery division, -3.3% and contributing -0.7 of a percentage point; and the motor vehicles, parts and accessories and other transport equipment division, ‑3.1% and contributing -0.5 of a percentage point.