According to the latest Stats SA economic sector figures released today (17 Oct), the Wholesale Retail and Motor trade sales indicators for August in South Africa, paints a miserable picture of what is happening in the South African economy currently.
Wholesale Sales Collapse in August
Measured in real terms using constant 2019 bench-mark prices, wholesale trade sales declined by a substantive -14,6% in August 2024 when compared year-on-year with August 2023. The seasonally adjusted wholesale trade sales decreased by -5,3% in August 2024 compared with July 2024. This followed month-on-month changes of -1,0% in July 2024 and 0,9% in June 2024.
Looking at the three months ended August 2024, seasonally adjusted wholesale trade sales decreased by -2,3% compared with the previous three months.
The main negative contributors were dealers in solid, liquid and gaseous fuels and related products with a massive -33,6% drop, and the construction and building materials sector seeing a -21,8% drop
Wholesale trade sales decreased by 5,2% in the three months ended August 2024 compared with the three months ended August 2023. The main negative contributor was dealers in solid, liquid and gaseous fuels and related products (-22,6% and contributing -6,2 percentage points).
The only key contributor with positive growth was sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies sector that saw an increase of 7,8%.
Motor Industry Sales Crash in August
Measured in real terms at constant 2019 prices, motor trade sales decreased by -2,4% year-on-year in August 2024.
The largest negative contributors to this decrease were:
- Sales in automotive accessories dropped by -7,9%
- New vehicle sales fell by -4,9%.
Pointing to increasing pressure on individuals and businesses, the only positive contributor to the automotive sector in August was used vehicle sales that grew by 7,5%, highlighting a lack of affordability with consumers choosing to buy cheaper second hand vehicles in place of new.
Seasonally adjusted motor trade sales remained unchanged with a 0% variance in August 2024 compared with July 2024, Following month-on-month changes of 0,5% in July 2024 and 4,7% in June 2024.