The manufacturing sector has faced significant pressure in recent months due to electricity supply constraints and low confidence levels. However, this situation has improved with the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU), which has boosted business confidence while Eskom’s turnaround strategy started to bear some fruit and alleviated some electricity supply issues.
Latest GDP figures indicate that manufacturing output increased in the second quarter, which is encouraging news. Despite monthly contractions in May and June 2024, there are signs of a potential turnaround as manufacturing shows tentative recovery ahead of the release of data for July 2024.