Manufacturing PMI falls to lowest level since April 2020 — bad news for GDP
The outlook for economic growth in South Africa is not great, and the new PMI and GDP data is not expected to be great either.
Manufacturing PMI fell to its lowest level since the pandemic in May, signalling that the manufacturing sector remains under pressure after a poor start to 2025. This is not good news for the GDP statistics for the first quarter that will be announced on Tuesday, 3 June.
The Absa Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is an economic activity index based on a survey conducted by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) and sponsored by Absa.
According to the BER, the seasonally adjusted PMI decreased by 1.6 points to 43.1 in May 2025 from 44.7 in April and 48.7 in March.
Jee-A van der Linde, senior economist at Oxford Economics Africa, says the headline PMI remained in contractionary territory for a seventh consecutive month. 'This suggests that the manufacturing sector continued to suffer in May, despite some flickers of activity and demand improvement, albeit at extremely low levels. However, a decline in the supplier deliveries index pushed the headline PMI lower.'
ALSO READ: Manufacturing PMI for April shows deteriorating SA economy
Modest increase in business activity and sales orders
The business activity and new sales orders indices rose modestly in May, likely driven by an uptick in domestic demand as export sales continued to deteriorate rapidly, he says. The survey findings were inconclusive on whether the decline in the inverted supplier deliveries index was due to easing logistical constraints or lower demand. Meanwhile, the employment index continued to decline, remaining in contractionary territory for 14 consecutive months.
The index tracking expected business conditions in six months' time increased sharply to its highest level since the end of 2024. Van der Linde says the survey findings suggest that sentiment improved after global tariffs were suspended and businesses were hopeful that local political disagreements on policy within the government would be resolved.
ALSO READ: PMI down slightly with concerns about global trade uncertainty
How manufacturing slipped further in May
This chart shows how manufacturing PMI slipped further in May, pressured by soft local and international demand:
Source: BER
ALSO READ: This is where we would be if SA sustained an economic growth rate of 4.5%
PMI at lowest level since April 2020
Van der Linde says the headline PMI has fallen to its lowest level since April 2020, when it was 30.9, emphasising just how weak demand is for South African manufactured goods.
'The employment index has remained in contractionary territory for the past 14 months, as manufacturers continue to scale down production due to stagnant demand.'
He says the manufacturing sector is expected to weigh on first-quarter real GDP growth, and that looks likely to be the case in the second quarter as well.
'First-quarter economic data releases have been weak, pointing to 0% growth in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. A quarterly contraction cannot be ruled out. Our below-consensus real GDP growth forecast for 2025 remains at 1.0%.'
This table shows the subcomponents of the Manufacturing PMI fared over the past three months:
Source: BER
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