Though Turkish manufacturing neared stabilisation in the final month of 2024, production scaled back solidly in January as demand conditions remained subdued, the latest Istanbul Chamber of Industry Türkiye Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey data showed on February 3.

Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “After production in the Turkish manufacturing sector had neared stabilisation in December, the sharper slowdown at the start of 2025 comes as something of a disappointment, and shows the ongoing fragility of customer demand.

“Firms will be hoping that conditions revive in the months ahead, helping to support growth.”

Sharper slowdowns in output, new orders and employment were recorded in January versus December, while inflationary pressures strengthened, S&P said.

The headline PMI was posted at 48.0 in January, down from 49.1 in December. Only a figure higher than 50.0 denotes an expansion of output. On the PMI readings, Turkish manufacturing has suffered monthly contractions for 10 straight months.

“The muted demand environment was also highlighted by data on new orders, with total new business and new export orders each moderating over the course of the month,” S&P said.

Employment in manufacturing was also scaled back in January, the second month running in which this was the case. However, the decrease of this parameter was marginal.

The survey also showed the rate of input cost inflation accelerated in January, but remained below the series average.

Output price inflation also quickened in January, rising to a four-month high, but this latest increase was also weaker than the average seen in the series.