Türkiye’s manufacturing activity expanded very slightly in February as devastating earthquakes impacted the sector, with some firms suspending production, resulting in a slowdown in output and orders, a business survey showed on Wednesday.

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing stood at 50.1 last month, unchanged from January, staying above the 50-point line that separates expansion from contraction, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) and S&P Global said.

The panel said that supplier lead times lengthened to the greatest extent in 10 months as the earthquakes caused difficulties in sourcing and delivering components.

Output and new orders moderated due to the earthquakes that killed more than 45,000 in the country. The panel said that suspended production lines and difficulties sourcing items led manufacturers to scale back their purchasing activity.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes on Feb. 6 caused widespread destruction in the southeast of Türkiye, leading to the collapse or severe damage of over 200,000 buildings.

Described as the worst disaster in Türkiye’s modern history, the quakes impacted an area home to some 13.5 million people or over 15% of the country's population.

Input prices rose due to increases in raw material costs and wages, plus currency weakness, and output prices rose in turn, the survey showed.

"The terrible earthquake in February impacted the Turkish manufacturing sector during the month, with supply chains and production lines affected in particular," said Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"Hopefully, we will see signs of recovery in the affected areas and across the sector in the months ahead."