Indicator: Turkey’s manufacturing sector continued to grow in March

Turkish factory activity continued to grow in March, with both new orders and production increasing despite the continuing repercussions of the devastating earthquakes that hit the country in February on the sector.

According to the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and Standard & Poor’s Global, the purchasing managers’ index in the manufacturing sector rose to 50.9 last month, compared to 50.1 in February, to remain above the 50-point threshold that separates growth from contraction.

Sometimes reconstruction efforts have contributed to subsidizing production.

The index survey showed that new orders returned to growth for the first time in a year and a half, with strong growth in business activities over the month and an acceleration in export orders.

The survey committee said that although production orders rose, employment fell for the first time in five months, in part because of a new early retirement law.

It added that input costs and production prices rose sharply last month amid rising raw material costs, currency weakness and wage increases.