Turkey’s manufacturing activity sees strong improvement in May: Index

ISTANBUL

Turkish manufacturing activity witnessed its strongest overall improvement in May since December 2013, as output, new orders, exports and employment all continued to grow, a business survey showed June 1.

The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 53.5 in May from April’s 51.7, staying above the 50-point line that separates expansion from contraction, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (İSO) and IHS Markit said.

Commenting on the PMI survey data, Trevor Balchin, a senior economist at IHS Markit, said: “The Turkish manufacturing sector stepped up a gear in May, registering the strongest overall improvement in operating conditions since December 2013. Growth rates for output, new orders, exports and jobs all strengthened, and the backlogs index highlighted strains on capacity. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures continued to ease.”

Output increased at the fastest rate since February 2014, while growth of new work hit a 42-month record, according to the index. 

Data also signaled that domestic demand had strengthened, while new export orders increased at the second-fastest rate in over three years.

Manufacturing employment also increased at the fastest rate since February 2015. Despite this, capacity was under pressure from demand as backlogs of work grew at the strongest pace since June 2006. Firms partly fulfilled orders by selling directly from stock, read the report. 

Inflationary pressures also eased further in May, noted the report. 

Input prices rose at the slowest rate in eight months, while output price inflation hit a seven-month low, it added.