Total new orders soften for 5th month running, as price rises, market uncertainty deterred customers
Turkiye’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector stood at 50.4 in February, according to fresh figures released on Tuesday.
The PMI was down fractionally from 50.5 in January but still above the 50.0 no-change mark, as has been the case in each of the past nine months, said a monthly report by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and London-based global data firm IHS Markit.
Total new orders softened for the fifth month running, and to the greatest extent since May last year as price rises and market uncertainty deterred customers,it noted.
Input costs continued to increase remarkably in February amid higher prices for raw materials, energy, transportation and wages.
“Despite the headline PMI remaining above 50.0, Turkish manufacturers continued to face a range of issues in February, thereby leading production to moderate again,” it said.
Commenting on the data, Andrew Harker, economics director at IHS Markit, said: “Disruption to electricity and natural gas supply added to the challenges being faced by Turkish manufacturers and contributed to a slowdown in output during February.”
Firms continued to expand their staffing levels, however, amid efforts to improve capacity and keep on top of workloads despite the numerous supply headwinds, he added.