Manufacturing sector shows encouraging Signs with uptick in capacity utilisation

SOUTH Africa's manufacturing landscape revealed a modest improvement in production capacity utilisation for large enterprises, as new data from Stats SA indicates an increase to 77.7% in May 2025 from 77.6% in May 2024.

- YOGASHEN PILLAY

Economists are interpreting this 0.1 percentage point rise as a positive indication of resilience within the sector.

According to Stats SA, six out of the ten major manufacturing divisions recorded increases in production capacity utilisation compared with the same month last year.

Notably, the glass and nonmetallic mineral products sector led the way with a significant rise of 2.5 percentage points, followed by textiles, clothing, leather, and footwear which saw an improvement of 1.8 percentage points.

Three divisions notably surpassed the critical threshold of 80% capacity utilisation in May 2025.

The food and beverages sector topped the list at 82.6%, signalling strong demand, followed by glass and nonmetallic mineral products at 81.0%, and furniture along with other manufacturing at 80.2%.

This data suggests that certain sectors may be gearing up for a robust performance in the coming quarter.

Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said that capacity utilisation by large manufacturers rose to 77.7% in May, from 76.2% in February this year on the three-month reading, mainly as shortages of raw materials decreased as did downtime.