Purchasing managers are cautiously optimistic heading into 2023 – but load shedding remains an ever-present blight.
The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index rose for a third month to reach 53.1 index points in December 2022, slightly up from 52.6 in November.
Sustained and intense load shedding during the last month of 2022 was likely a key drag on the sector. “The expectation that the peak in cost pressure is, for now, behind manufacturers may have underpinned the more optimistic outlook. Indeed, the purchasing price index declined to its lowest level since late 2019 and is now even well below its long-term average reading,” the BER said.
However, there are some red flags present in the data. Somewhat worrying was the renewed uptick in the supplier deliveries index, the BER noted, with new sales orders dipping somewhat – although remaining in positive terrain. And as load shedding wreaked havoc on the indices for December, power troubles lie ahead for the rest of 2023.
As the power utility struggles to keep its ageing fleet online amid frequent breakdowns, it has also taken one unit of its most reliable station – the Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant – offline for a life extension project. This has removed 1,000MW from the grid until the middle of the year at least, whereafter the second unit will be taken offline for the same purpose.
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