ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish factory activity expanded very slightly in February as massive earthquakes impacted the sector as some firms suspended production resulting in a slowdown in output and orders, a business survey showed on Wednesday.
Turkey’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing stood at 50.1 last month unchanged from January, staying above the 50-point line that separates expansion from contraction, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and S&P Global said.
Supplier lead times lengthened to the greatest extent in 10 months as the earthquake caused difficulties in the sourcing and delivery of components, the panel said.
Output and new orders moderated due to the earthquake that killed 44,000 in the country, the panel said adding that suspended production lines and difficulties sourcing items led manufacturers to scale back their purchasing activity.
Input prices rose due to increases in raw material costs and wages, plus currency weakness, and output prices rose in turn, the survey showed.
“The terrible earthquake in February impacted the Turkish manufacturing sector during the month, with supply chains and production lines affected in particular,” said Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“Hopefully we will see signs of recovery in the affected areas and across the sector as a whole in the months ahead.”
(This story has been refiled to remove extraneous word in the headline)
(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Susan Fenton)
