Industrial output rises in March from February

ANKARA

Türkiye’s industrial production has declined by a slight 0.1 percent in March from a year ago, but output increased by 5.5 percent compared with February.

The country’s industrial production contracted 8.2 percent year-on-year and 5.9 percent month-on-month in February when the devastating earthquakes jolted several provinces in Türkiye’s south, killing more than 50,000 people, destroying businesses.

The March figures, which were announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute on May 10, were better than expectations. Analysts had forecast a 1.5 percent year-on-year decline in industrial production, while predicting a 1.8 percent increase in output from February.

In the manufacturing sector, production rose by 1.4 percent on an annual basis in March, after contracting 8.2 percent in the previous month. The monthly output increase in the key sector was 6.1 percent, comparing favorably with the 6.5 percent month-on-month decline recorded in February.

Durable consumer goods production, which plunged 4.1 percent annually in February, rose by 9.2 percent compared with March 2022.

The annual decline in non-durable consumer goods output slowed from 6.2 percent to 0.6 percent, while the sector’s production increased by 3.9 percent from February.

The capital goods manufacturing sector’s production soared nearly 30 percent year-on-year and 10 percent month-on-month, according to data from TÜİK.

Energy output fell 10.4 percent in March from a year ago, but the sector’s production grew 2.3 percent compared with February.

The production index for mining and quarrying fell 10.4 percent year-on-year but rose 3 percent monthly.

The manufacturing sector continued to show signs of recovery from February’s earthquake in April, with output, new orders and exports all increasing for the second month running, according to the latest survey by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (İSO) and S&P Global.

The headline Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posted 51.5 in April, up from 50.9 in March and above the 50 no-change mark for the fourth month running.

Stronger demand was reported by a number of firms in April, leading to increases in new orders and output. Some respondents also indicated that workloads had risen due to an ongoing recovery from February’s earthquake.