SEIFSA ANNUAL REVIEW 2021
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
The Metals and Engineering (M&E) sector remains a strategic sector of the general South African economy, which is also crucial in creating both labour-intensive and capital-intensive jobs. It has important direct linkages with the primary sector, other key industries and the tertiary sector of the economy, with the level of interdependence increasing over time. The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA), through its representation of 18 employers’ associations in this sector, has advocated actively for these associations and lobbied for policies aimed at improving the business conditions in which its member companies operate. The initiative is in line with SEIFSA’s main focus, which is to continue to build strong employer associations reflecting the views of their respective members and supporting the needs, interests and transformation objectives of responsible employers in the industry. SEIFSA is increasingly being relied upon to assist Government, labour and civil society in navigating the plethora of challenges facing our economy in the face of local and international shocks, including the coronavirus-induced economic crisis.
THE ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE The M&E sector is a crucial supplier of inputs into major sectors such as construction and other manufacturing sub-industries and remains an integral part of economic and industrial development in South Africa. In 2020, the M&E sector faced enormous challenges globally, with supply chain disruptions, declining market demand and disruptions in trade. The South African industrial landscape was not spared from this challenge. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the South African industrial economic landscape was dominated by shrinking domestic market size, declining production, low-capacity utilisation levels, weak production sales, declining contribution to the overall total economy, declining employment numbers, increasing real per capital income impacting negatively on cost bases, increasing levels of imports, weak global trade balance position, low investment levels and low product price increase in relation to input prices. This continues to be the case.
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