Absa Manufacturing Survey

Inflation expectations
Manufacturing
Retail
Other services
Building and construction

Absa Manufacturing Survey

The Absa Manufacturing Survey is a brisk quarterly report on the results and implications of the latest BER survey of manufacturing firms. Released in advance of official indicators of activity, it provides reliable and up-to-date information on current trends and valuable perspectives on the outlook for the sector.

Apart from business confidence, the survey data highlights current and expected trends in business conditions, domestic as well as export sales volumes, production volumes, the number of factory workers, input costs and selling prices, fixed investment and stock levels.

The survey covers the various important manufacturing subsectors as well as the main provinces (Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng).

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Manufacturing Survey, 2025Q2

Date Uploaded: June 18 2025 08:00


According to the latest Absa Manufacturing Survey, business confidence in the factory sector slightly declined by one point to 33 in 2025Q2. This follows a two-point decline in 2025Q1, indicating that the manufacturing sector remained under pressure in the first half of 2025 as demand remains constrained. The subsector results were mixed, with five subsectors experiencing declining confidence levels, while three other subsectors saw improved confidence levels.