Manufacturing PMI retreats to 48.1 in January: Survey

ISTANBUL

The headline Istanbul Chamber of Industry (İSO) Türkiye Manufacturing PMI registered 48.1 in January, down slightly from December's reading of 48.9 and below the 50 no-change mark for the 22nd consecutive month.

The latest figure pointed to a modest monthly softening in the health of the manufacturing sector, S&P Global said in a statement on Feb. 2.

Manufacturers signaled muted demand conditions in January, thereby, feeding through to a further easing of new orders.

“Although quickening from December, the latest moderation was still only modest. New export orders also slowed and to a larger extent than total new business,” it added.

With new orders softening, manufacturers scaled back their production accordingly. Output has now eased in each of the past 22 months.

Firms also lowered employment, purchasing activity and inventories of both inputs and finished goods at the start of the year, it said.

Input costs increased sharply, with the pace of inflation quickening for the second month running to the fastest since April 2024, according to the survey.

Respondents often noted higher costs for raw materials, with metals mentioned in particular.

In turn, output prices also increased at the sharpest pace in 21 months as higher costs were passed through to customers, it said, adding that the rate of charge inflation was above the series average.