Auto sale down amid labor dispute in South Africa

The South African automotive industry strike in September had a significant negative impact on the auto sale, its association said on Friday. The auto strike caused a 75.1 percent monthly year-on-year decline in September's exports, said the National Association of Automobile Manufactures of South Africa (NAAMSA). In September, the workers in the automotive industry downed tools for about four weeks over salary disagreements with employers. NAAMSA said in a statement,"The October figure showed some recovery in the auto industry after workers had returned to work from strike, but the export remained a decline of 15.1 percent and overall domestic sale was down by 2.9 percent in volume terms compared to the corresponding month last year." The industry's new vehicle exports during October stood at over 21,000 units, registering a substantial decrease of over 3,000 units compared with the vehicles exported in October last year. NAAMSA revised their forecast of the auto production this year as a result of the labor dispute, saying they are expecting to produce 290,000 units this year instead of 336,000 units previously predicted. This week the South African Reserve Bank warned that the labor unrest in the country will damage the economy. NAAMSA said on Friday that they expect to increase exports of vehicles in 2014.