FX.co ★ South Africa Factory Growth Slows in October

In October 2025, South Africa experienced a modest increase in manufacturing output, rising by 0.2% compared to the previous year. This represents a significant slowdown from the revised 1% growth observed in September. Notably, output growth for motor vehicles, parts, and accessories, as well as other transport equipment, decelerated to 1.6% from 7.6% in September. Similarly, the food and beverages sector saw growth taper to 1.9% from 4.2%, and the furniture and other manufacturing sector slowed to 0.8% from 5%. In contrast, declines in production were reported in the wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing sectors, which fell by 6.9% compared to a decline of 5.3% previously, and in the glass and non-metallic mineral products sector, which dropped by 5.8% versus a previous increment of 0.6%. On a seasonally adjusted month-to-month basis, factory output registered a 1% increase, following a revised 0.5% rise in the prior month.