S. Africa's manufacturing production shows slight contraction

South Africa's manufacturing production showed a slight contraction of 0.1 percent in 2014, following three years of positive growth during 2010 and 2013, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) said on Wednesday.

The largest contributors to the weak performance of manufacturing production in 2014 were metals & machinery and glass & non-metallic mineral products, said StatsSA.

South Africa's manufacturing industry is dominated by three sectors -- food & beverages, petroleum & chemical products, and metals & machinery. Together these three sectors account for two thirds of total manufacturing production.

Metals & machinery fell by 3 percent in 2014 compared with 2013. Its annual growth rate started the year in positive territory (January, February and March) but turned negative for the rest of the year, reaching a low of 21.2 percent year-on-year in July 2014 as a result of a four-week metals and engineering strike.

Manufacturing production in the glass & non-metallic mineral products sector fell by 5.8 percent in 2014, compared with 2013.

Although total manufacturing showed a small contraction in 2014, six of the 10 manufacturing divisions recorded positive growth. For example, communication & professional equipment grew by 9.4 percent, compared with 2013, food & beverages grew by 2.1 percent, and furniture & other manufacturing grew by 3.4 percent. Endi