South Africa Boardroom

South Africa · Governance

Which divisions drove South Africa’s September manufacturing decline

South African manufacturing production fell 3.5% in September 2026 from a year earlier. Vehicles and other transport equipment and the wood, paper and printing division each subtracted 1.1 percentage points.

Sources checked

South Africa Boardroom Editorial Team

Largest negative contributionsDivisions behind the year-on-year production decline

Production change

Scale · -19% to 0%

  • Vehicles and other transport equipment-15%
  • Wood, paper, publishing and printing-11.2%
  • Furniture and other manufacturing-19%
  • Basic metals, metal products and machinery-3.7%

Switch between each division’s own growth rate and its contribution to overall manufacturing growth.

Source 1 Source 2

Furniture had a larger fall but a smaller aggregate effect

The furniture and other manufacturing division fell 19.0% and subtracted 0.8 percentage points from the overall year-on-year rate. Vehicles and transport equipment fell 15.0% and subtracted 1.1 points. Contributions reflect the division’s weight as well as its rate. Source 1

Production was flat month to month

Seasonally adjusted production fell 3.0% in August and was flat in September. The third-quarter aggregate was 0.9% higher than the second quarter. Food and beverages contributed 1.2 percentage points to the quarterly result. Source 1

Manufacturing sales followed a different path

Seasonally adjusted sales fell 2.2% in September from August but increased 3.2% from Q2 to Q3. Vehicles and other transport equipment contributed 1.5 percentage points to the quarterly sales change. Source 1

Physical production and the value of sales are separate measures

The release tracks the volume of manufacturing production and the value of sales of manufactured products. Prices, the timing of sales and inventories can make the two move differently. Compare periods on the same adjustment basis. Source 1 Source 2

Sources

Open the data and source notes