In the wake of the release of the July liquidations statistics by Stats SA,  Fin24.com reports:

“Payment defaults by debtors have been escalating sharply for almost two years, and there appeared to be no let-up in this trend, an economist said on Thursday.The 17.6% year-on-year increase in July liquidations to 320 was exactly in line with expectations of a 20% increase, said Luke Doig, senior economist at Credit Guarantee.

This followed the release by Statistics SA earlier of the latest liquidations and insolvencies data.

He added that the year-to-date (to July) increase in business failures was officially 11.5%, whereas there had been a 21.1% increase in the number of claims paid in the first eight months of the year – with an almost 31% hike in the rand values involved.

Company closures rose 31.8% in July although the year-to-date figure was 5.7% down on 2007 levels.

Liquidations of close corporations were just 4.9% higher in July and smaller enterprises appeared to have borne the brunt of the tougher operating conditions, being 31.4% higher in the first seven months of this year.

Most of the secondary sector held up fairly well in the July release, with the tertiary sector taking the most strain, Doig said.

The wholesale and retail trade industry showed a 28% month-on-month deterioration (75 to 96 closures) while on a year-on-year basis, the broader financial and business services sector experienced 45.5% more closures (101 to 147).

Doig said the logistics sector (transport, storage and communication) saw a 200% year-on-year increase as escalating operating costs took their toll.

- Sapa”