South Africa’s manufacturing sector lost momentum in November 2025, with production contracting year-on-year and month-on-month as structural pressures and weakening demand weighed heavily on key industries, according to data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Thursday.
Manufacturing production declined by 1.0% in November compared with the same month in 2024, while seasonally adjusted output fell by 1.1% compared with October.
The month-on-month decline followed a 1.0% increase in October and a 0.3% rise in September, signalling a sharp reversal in recent gains.
Stats SA said the largest negative contributions to annual production came from the wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing division, which contracted by 7.9%.
This was followed by basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery, which fell by 2.5%, while…