In the decade since the global economic meltdown of 2008, South Africa’s manufacturing industry has underperformed relative to its peers. The local industry had to deal with not only the fallout from the global crisis, including the end of the commodity supercycle, the collapse of mining procurement and a global steel glut, but also many local policy missteps, which have made it more difficult to navigate the global headwinds.
Under the new administration of President Cyril Ramaphosa, industrialisation and increasing investment are the main priorities for revitalising the economy. Government is reformulating its industrial strategy, with efforts set to focus on sectors that have the greatest potential for growth.
Creamer Media’s ‘Manufacturing 2019’ report covers these issues, with a particular focus on the current business environment, sector performance, manufacturing exports, the effects of State-owned power utility Eskom’s electricity woes on manufacturing, policy development and the impact that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is having on South Africa’s manufacturing sector.
This report draws from material published over the past 12 months and is a summary of information published in Engineering News and Mining Weekly, as well as of information available in the public domain.
This report does not purport to provide an analysis of market trends.