Capacity usage rises in April

ANKARA

The capacity utilization rate (CUR) in the manufacturing sector improved from 73.5 percent in March to 75.4 percent in April, data from the Central Bank have shown.

In the durable consumer goods industry, the usage rate inched up from 71.7 percent to 71.9, while the CUR in the non-durable goods sector climbed from 71.7 percent to 73.4 percent.

Companies operating in the consumer goods sector worked at 73.2 percent capacity this month, up from the previous month’s CUR of 71.7 percent.

In the food industry, the capacity utilization rate increased from 72.1 percent to 73.6 percent, while in the intermediate goods sector, CUR improved from 72.7 percent to 74.4 percent.

The CUR in the capital goods sector was 79.1 percent in April, comparing favorably with the 78.6 percent of capacity utilization in the previous month.

The Central Bank separately said that its Investment Tendency Survey for spring showed that gross investment expenditure in the manufacturing sector increased compared with the same period of last year.

Last year, the largest annual increase in investment expenditure was in the machinery and equipment manufacturing sector, with 41.6 percent, while investments in land, building and infrastructure grew by 30.2 percent and 20.4 percent, respectively.

The Spring Survey also showed that expected investment expenditures in 2023 will increase compared with 2022, with the machinery and equipment companies planning to boost investment expenditure by 35.9 percent.

Land investment expenditures are expected to increase by 24.5 percent this year. Investments in building and infrastructure will rise 16.2 percent, according to the survey.