According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa, in 2012 the country's manufacturing output rose by two percent compared to 2011, while the seasonally adjusted manufacturing production in the fourth quarter of the year increased by 1.6 percent compared to the previous quarter.

In South Africa, the seasonally adjusted production of basic iron and steel products in the fourth quarter decreased by 8.5 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year, while the actual production index of basic iron and steel products saw a decrease of 5.9 percent year on year.

However, for basic iron and steel products, the estimated sales value of manufactured products in the fourth quarter of last year decreased by 8.1 percent year on year, amounting to ZAR 23.2 billion ($430 million). In the whole of the year, the estimated sales of basic iron and steel products decreased 2.1 percent compared to 2011, to ZAR 97.35 billion ($1.8 billion).

In the South African basic iron and steel industry, the capacity utilisation rate was 75.5 percent in 2012, up compared to the 73.4 percent recorded in 2011.

Source: Steel Orbis