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).

Back to Documents

Manufacturing Survey, 2025Q4

Date Uploaded: December 05 2025 10:15


Manufacturing business confidence rose by a solid 16 points to 39 in 2025Q4. This was the best level since 2022Q1 and above the long-term average reading of 35 points. At the current level, almost four out of 10 respondents were satisfied with prevailing business conditions.