South Africa’s seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined to 47.4 in February 2026 from 48.7 in January, marking a fifth consecutive month of contraction in the manufacturing sector. The downturn deepened slightly, reflecting weaker business activity and ongoing job losses. Operating conditions remained strained, weighed down by port delays, localized power outages, and muted demand.
There was, however, a more positive development in the sub-index measuring expected business conditions, which showed an improvement. “The stop-start nature of manufacturing output, also evident in official data, is not conducive to longer-term capacity expansion, investment growth or employment gains,” Absa said.
