Manufacturing activity in South Africa slipped by 2.8% year-on-year in February 2026, following a downwardly revised 0.1% fall in January and worse than the expected 0.3% decrease. This marks the fourth consecutive month of downturn in industrial activity and the most pronounced since April 2025, mainly on account of food & beverages (-4.5%); wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing (-9.7%) and basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery (-3.6%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, output fell by 2.2%, after an upwardly revised 1.9% rise in the previous month. Manufacturing production decreased by 2% in the three months ended February 2026 compared with the previous three months.