South Africa's private sector activity deteriorated in December as firms signalled a greater impact from the port crisis in Durban on supply chains, inventories, output, and demand, survey results from S&P Global showed Thursday.
The Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 49.0 in December from 50.0 in November. Any score above 50.0 indicates expansion.
The latest renewed downturn was led by sharper falls in output, new business, and stocks of purchases.
Businesses emphasised that poor customer spending, supply issues, and continuous load shedding were factors in declining sales.
On a big note, suppliers' delivery times index dropped to the lowest level since early 2022. This indicated a severe worsening of vendor performance, largely associated with the port crisis in Durban, which led to shipping congestion and reports of delivery delays of up to several weeks.
On the price front, inflationary pressures eased in December, with purchase prices rising to the lowest level in three years amid weaker demand pressure and a stable exchange rate. Selling prices also rose at a slower pace.
