MANUFACTURING NEWS ON FASTMOVING

The manufacturers’ sentiment index jumped to 36,61 in the third quarter of this year from the -14,89 recorded at the end of the previous quarter, Simonis Storm Securities (SSS) said in a report released earlier this month. read more

East Africa Glassware Mart plans to double its revenue to $34 million (Sh2.9 billion) by opening in 10 new markets within Africa over the next three years. read more

Shoprite chief executive Whitey Basson has moved beyond blaming the usual suspects of unions and labour legislation for South Africa’s economic woes and has lashed out at the “declining” manufacturing sector for its lack of innovation and competitiveness. read more

Johannesburg - Manufacturing output increased by 5.4% year-on-year in volume terms in July from a revised 0.5% in June, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday. read more

Alert Steel and Build announces the launch of its megastores in Gauteng, Limpopo and North West, where timber, plumbing, hardware and building materials have been introduced. read more

Panasonic Corp is finalizing plans to pull out of the consumer smartphone business in Japan and has approached potential buyers for its cellular base station business, the Nikkei reported. read more

Zambia’s economic outlook will remain favourable in the second half of 2013 due to continued strong domestic investments in key productive sectors. read more

Cape Town - There are indications of a degree of consolitation in the South African manufacturing sector, according to Coenraad Bezuidenhout, executive director of the Manufacturing Circle. read more

Cairo - Egypt is in the early stages of an export boom, suggesting its economy could begin to recover in the next few months if a minimum level of political stability is restored. read more

Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) in conjunction with O&L Energy has announced the official approval of a 1 MW on-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) facility that will be the largest roof-mounted PV plant in Africa to date.  read more

The Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Keletso Rakhudu has said Botswana must have a twin pronged strategy in promoting itself.  read more

The wholesale and retail sector is showing great promise as a key economic driver after recording good performance last year, the 2013 Economic Survey shows. - See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-121948/retail-sector-seen-key-economic-driver#sthash.nKR7ThJZ.dpuf read more

Cape Town – Consumers can expect a petrol price hike of close to 90c per litre, according to a quick survey done by Fin24.  read more

Johannesburg - Economic growth in the first quarter of 2013 remained subdued due to contraction in the manufacturing sector, the SA Reserve Bank (Sarb) said on Wednesday.  read more

FMCG major Procter & Gamble (P&G) India is enhancing its manufacturing capabilities and expanding its footprint by setting up its largest plant at Kothur Mandal in Mahaboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. The company will be investing R370 crore in the plant through Procter & Gamble Home Products.  read more

London - The downturn across eurozone businesses eased slightly this month, although a dearth of new orders means the bloc's economy is likely to contract again in the second quarter, business surveys showed on Thursday. read more

The output of textile, clothing and leather sub-sector of the Zambian industry increased marginally by 3.5 percent year-on-year in 2012, according to the Central Statistical Office (CSO). read more

Arandis – Dantago Clothing, which manufactures children’s clothing for Woolworths South Africa, will be expanding its services to stores in Botswana and Lesotho this year. read more

London - British manufacturing contracted by the narrowest of margins in April, and much less than expected, the first major set of data for the second quarter of the year showed on Wednesday. read more

Beijing - Manufacturing activity slowed in China in April as exports were hit by sluggish overseas demand, HSBC said on Tuesday, fuelling concerns about the strength of the world's second-largest economy. read more

Johannesburg - South Africa's headline producer inflation was at 5.7% year-on-year in March compared with 5.4% in February, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday. read more

Johannesburg - South Africa's manufacturing output fell 2.9% year-on-year in volume terms in February, the first contraction in five months, compared with revised 3.7% growth in January, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday.  read more

Zimbabwe's TM Supermarkets, in which Pick n Pay is a partner, has invested a further $25m into the retail chain, with the money aimed at transforming its retail outlets through refurbishment of the group’s 50 stores across the country. read more

Johannesburg - The Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) 2013/2014, aimed at creating economic growth, was unveiled in Pretoria on Thursday. read more

London - The Dow Jones industrial average touched another record high Tuesday after reports on auto sales and factory orders provided the latest evidence that the US economy is strengthening. read more

Johannesburg - Growth in the manufacturing base will enable the Brics countries to achieve their desired economic growth and job creation, Indian Minister of Commerce Anand Sharma said on Wednesday.  read more

International consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble (P&G), which plans to build a state-of-the-art R1.6 billion manufacturing plant in Gauteng, is positioning itself to capture growth in Africa as the slowdown in developed markets continues. read more

Johannesburg - The South African economy needs a larger manufacturing sector in order to improve employment, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Thursday.  read more

Johannesburg - Manufacturing production increased by 3.9% year-on-year (y/y) in January after an unrevised 2.0% (y/y) rise in December‚ data released by Statistics SA on Thursday showed. read more

Cape Town - The opening of a factory manufacturing high-tech gadgets could boost employment not only in the Western Cape but South Africa as a whole, Cape Town premier Helen Zille said on Tuesday. read more

Johannesburg - The biggest decrease in the rate of unemployment in South Africa last year was recorded in Gauteng, economic development MEC Nkosiphendule Kolisile said on Sunday.  read more

Johannesburg - The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final manufactured goods increased annually by 5.8% in January 2013, Statistics SA said on Tuesday.  read more

The contribution of South Africa’s manufacturing sector to gross domestic product is now only second biggest and is expected to slide from a historical high of 22 percent to below 12 percent in the future, with negative implications for employment, according to professional services firm Deloitte. read more

Johannesburg - South African Paper maker Mondi [JSE:MND] said on Thursday it expects to reap the benefit of recent acquisitions after reporting a slight drop in full-year earnings on lower prices. read more

Johannesburg - Labour inspectors would be empowered to push for the prosecution of employers who contravene the Occupational Health and Safety Act, an official said on Tuesday. read more

Apple Inc. is experimenting with the design of a device similar to a wristwatch that would operate on the same platform as the iPhone and would be made with curved glass, the New York Times reported on Sunday. read more

Johannesburg - South Africa's manufacturing output undershot market expectations in December, growing 2.0% year-on-year in volume terms, compared with a revised 3.7% in November, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday.  read more

Domestic manufacturing has received another boost with the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) yesterday announcing further designations for local production with minimum local content thresholds in terms of the public sector preferential procurement programme. read more

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Tuesday it will buy an additional $50 billion in US-made products over the next decade in such areas as sporting goods and high-end appliances in a bid to help boost the US economy. read more

London - British manufacturing output fell in November and industrial production was weaker than expected, official data showed on Friday, sparking renewed speculation that the economy shrank at the end of 2012. read more

Johannesburg - Employment in South Africa's formal, non-farm sector nudged up 0.1% in the third quarter of 2012, with a decrease in mining jobs offset by additions to the retail and financial sectors, a survey showed on Tuesday.  read more

Intel presented new manufacturing technology that it said keeps it on track to launch a new generation of chips for smartphones and tablets as it rushes to catch up with Qualcomm and other rivals in the fast-growing mobile market. read more

Singapore, Dec 10, 2012 (AFP) -Oil prices gained in Asia Monday as traders welcomed data indicating a continued economic pick-up in China, the world's largest energy consumer, analysts said.  read more

Johannesburg - South Africa's economic growth is likely to remain subdued next year due to the effects of labour unrest in the crucial mining sector and a weak global economy, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. read more

Cape Town - Electrical appliances which are not certified by the SA Bureau of Standards (SABS) pose a serious threat to consumers' lives, Parliament's energy portfolio committee warned on Tuesday. read more

Chinese manufacturing returned to growth in November for the first time in over a year and the deep downturn in euro zone factories eased slightly, according to business surveys released yesterday. read more

Johannesburg - South African consumers are "spoilt for choice" and need to be convinced to buy local products, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Monday.  read more

Beijing - China's manufacturing activity grew in November for the first time in 13 months, HSBC said on Thursday, in a further sign of strength in the world's second-largest economy after a marked slowdown. read more

Johannesburg - Employment in the month of October increased by an annualised rate of 1% boosted by the informal sector, according to the Adcorp Employment Index released on Monday. read more

Harare - Zimbabwe's manufacturing industry is in crisis with firms under-performing due to erratic power supplies and lack of capital, an industry body said on Wednesday. read more

China's economic model that delivered three decades of double-digit growth is running out of steam and the country's next leaders face tough choices to keep incomes rising.  read more

Armonk, New York - IBM's third-quarter earnings held steady, despite the economic jitters that contributed to a steeper decline in revenue than Wall Street anticipated. read more

Growth in manufacturing output slumped in August to 3 percent year on year, Statistics SA said yesterday. However, Nedbank’s economic unit described the figure as “much better than expected, despite the slowing from the 6.3 percent achieved in July”.  read more

Eurozone manufacturing activity was in the doldrums again in September but showed signs of bottoming out with a slight increase overall from August, data showed on Monday.  read more

The Indian government’s decision Friday to let big department stores like Wal-Mart Stores into the country could dramatically impact everything from the country’s food chain to its roads.  read more

Beijing - China's manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level in more than three years in August as the global economic slowdown continues to weigh on the world's largest exporter, HSBC said on Monday. read more

Johannesburg - The seasonally adjusted Kagiso Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) lost a marginal 0.8 index points in August and is now at a level of 50.2, Kagiso Tiso Holdings said on Monday. read more

New Delhi - India has quietly revised a slew of key economic data ahead of new GDP figures due out on Friday, a move economists say raises questions about the reliability of the country's financial records.  read more

Economists have praised Mpumalanga’s 4.4% employment growth in the second quarter of 2012, but have cautioned that ending unemployment remained a mirage in the current economic and labour climate. read more

Zurich - The world's biggest food company Nestlé  read more

Cape Town - A World Bank report has ranked South Africa the best among Brics country for ease of doing business, ahead of powerhouses China and Russia. read more

London - The eurozone’s manufacturing sector contracted for the 11th straight month in July as output and new orders plummeted, a business survey found on Wednesday.  read more

Heavy job losses in the manufacturing and trade sectors of the economy marred news yesterday that unemployment dipped unexpectedly during the second quarter of this year. read more

Beijing - China's economy expanded at its slowest pace since the depths of the global financial crisis more than three years ago, official data showed on Friday, fuelling expectations of more stimulus moves. read more

Johannesburg - South Africa’s factory output grew above expectations in May compared with last year, backing the case for interest rates to stay unchanged at next week’s policy meeting, although the central bank may cut them later this year to buoy the economy. read more

ALTX-listed consumer goods manufacturer Beige has blamed a R31,6m impairment to its investment in packaging company Crystal Pack for losses posted for the year to March, in its results released yesterday. read more

South Africa needs a "deep partnership" between business and labour to help the clothing and textile industry preserve and create jobs, Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Economic Development, said this week. read more

The price of Brent crude oil fell below $91 a barrel yesterday, a price last seen in December 2010, from this year’s high of $124 in March. read more

The downturn in the euro zone’s private sector is becoming entrenched and Chinese factories are finding the going increasingly tough, business surveys showed yesterday, painting a gloomier outlook for the world economy. read more

Johannesburg - Employment in South Africa's formal sector edged up 0.1% in the first quarter of 2012 compared with the previous quarter, with job increases in the mining sector and a fall in manufacturing, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday. read more

Johannesburg – Manufacturing business confidence plunged 18 index points to 29 in the second quarter‚ a Bureau for Economic Research (BER) manufacturing survey released on Friday shows. read more

Johannesburg - South Africa's manufacturing output grew by 1.2% year-on-year in volume terms in April which was below expectations after contracting by 2.9% in March, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday. read more

Futures were flat in quiet trade on Tuesday‚ with markets awaiting the outcome of the G7 meeting and central banks’ rate decisions. read more

Futures edged down slightly on Monday after data showed that orders for manufactured goods dropped unexpectedly in the US in April. read more

Beijing - China's manufacturing sector weakened in May, two closely watched indices showed on Friday, providing further confirmation that the world's second largest economy is slowing more than previously thought.  read more

Johannesburg - South Africa's seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index nudged lower to 53.6 in May from 53.7 in April, in line with a weaker global trend, although the employment sub-category turned positive for the month.  read more

Pretoria - South Africa’s economic growth slowed in the first quarter of 2012, hit by a sharp contraction in mining, but manufacturing showed surprising resilience, suggesting the Reserve Bank might not need to cut interest rates to stimulate output. read more

The future of global manufacturing is turning into a competition for global talent according to a new report. This a trend that is mirrored in SA, where a lack of skills is adding to the woes of a manufacturing sector that has grown by just over 2% in five years, according to Deloitte. read more

More than a third of US-based manufacturing companies with sales greater than $1bn are planning to bring back production to the United States from China  read more

Johannesburg - Growth in South Africa’s manufacturing output outpaced expectations in February, adding to signs that domestic demand is recovering and backing the case for higher interest rates.  read more

Output of South Africa’s manufacturing sector 4,1% higher than in February last year, while economists had expected an increase of only 2% read more

UK manufacturing is under immense pressure according to research out this week which shows 25 per cent of the major manufacturers for the retail sector are struggling to survive. read more

National Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers complains of being sidelined by the government in search for domestic drug makers read more

Johannesburg - South Africa plans to spend R5.8bn over the next three years to help manufacturers affected by the global economic downturn upgrade their factories, improve products and train workers, the trade minister said on Monday.  read more

After cooling down following a visit by Chinese vice president Xi Jinping to the United States, trade tensions between China and the westerns world have once again begun to boil over protectionism claims. read more

Johannesburg - Job growth slowed in February to an annual rate of 1.5% - or 24 000 jobs created, according to the Adcorp Employment Index released on Monday. read more

Bloemfontein. – It’s consumers who are putting the zing in the South African economy at a time when low growth in foreign markets is putting a damper on the production side of the economy. read more

New orders for long-lasting US manufactured goods fell in January by the most in three years as demand slumped across the board, suggesting the economy started the year on weaker footing than expected.  read more

This is a busy week on the local front, with a string of important economic data due for release. Among the most anticipated are SA's fourth quarter gross domestic product figures, credit extension data and the purchasing managers index. read more

China's manufacturing activity continued to contract in February as export orders weakened, HSBC said Wednesday, in a further sign that the eurozone crisis and US weakness are hurting demand. read more

Manufacturing production volume grew by 4.1% quarter on quarter (q/q) on a seasonally adjusted annualised basis after contracting in the prior two quarters.  read more

SA’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in more than two years in the final quarter of last year, with manufacturing playing a key role in job creation, official data showed yesterday. read more

Nestlé SA brought its manufacturing facility count in SA to 10 with the launch of a new coffee creamer factory yesterday. read more

The outlook for manufacturing has unexpectedly leapt into positive territory. Data out yesterday showed the seasonally adjusted Kagiso purchasing managers index (PMI) rebounded strongly to 53.2 last month from 49.4 in December. This is the highest level since June last year and above the 2011 average of 52.1. read more

The 2.6% year-on-year (y/y) increase in November was better than the upwardly revised October rise of 1.2% (previously 1.0%, but still down significantly on the 8.2% y/y jump in September. One of the reasons for the high September was due to base effects as September 2010 was impacted by industrial action in the motor division. read more

European glass packaging production volumes have grown by 4.7% in the first half of 2011, according to figures from the European Container Glass Federation (Feve). read more

Cape Town - The clothing industry will have to innovate and raise productivity to survive the rocky world economy, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Tuesday. read more

GDP growth in SA is likely to have registered growth of 1.6% quarter on quarter (q/q) seasonally adjusted annualised (saa) in the third quarter of 2011, from 1.3% in the second quarter of 2011, according to a poll of leading economists by I-Net Bridge.  read more

South African business confidence slipped slightly in the fourth quarter of 2011 by easing one point to 38 index points, according to the RMB/BER Business Confidence Index (BCI) released on Wednesday.  read more

PUNE, India — When Ranjit Date returned to India 20 years ago after earning a doctorate in robotics from an American university, he hoped to help automate factory assembly lines in his home country. read more