South Africa's manufacturing production decreased by 2.2% in February, compared with January, after having increased by 1.9% month-on-month in January and having decreased by 1.4% month-on-month in December.

Manufacturing production also decreased by 2.8% in February, compared with February 2025, says Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) Industry Statistics director Nicolai Claassen.

The largest negative contributions to the year-on-year decline were made by food and beverages; wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing; and basic iron and steel, nonferrous metal products, metal products and machinery.

Food and beverages declined by 4.5% and contributed -1.1 percentage points to the overall year-on-year decline; while wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing declined by 9.7% and contributed -1 percentage point; and basic iron and steel, nonferrous metal products, metal products and machinery declined by 3.6% and contributed -0.8 of a percentage point to the reading.

Additionally, manufacturing production decreased by 2% for the three months ended February, compared with the previous three months, with eight of the ten manufacturing divisions reporting negative growth rates over this period, Stats SA says.

The largest negative contributions for the quarter-on-quarter reading were made by basic iron and steel, nonferrous metal products, metal products and machinery that declined by 3.9% and contributed -0.9 of a percentage point; food and beverages that declined by 2.5% and contributed -0.6 of a percentage point; and motor vehicles, parts and accessories and other transport equipment that declined by 5.2% and contributed -0.4 of a percentage point.

Further, manufacturing sales increased by 0.3% in February, compared with January, which followed month-on-month changes of 3% in January and a month-on-month decrease of 4.4% in December.

However, manufacturing sales decreased by 3.1% in the three months ended February, compared with the previous three months.

The largest negative contributions to the quarter-on-quarter reading were made by the motor vehicles, parts and accessories and other transport equipment division that declined by 17.1% and contributed -2.6 percentage points; and petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products that declined by 3.6% and contributed -0.8 of a percentage point.