Construction materials production rises 6 percent in 2023

ISTANBUL

Construction materials production increased by 5.7 percent last year compared to 2022, according to the latest report by the Türkiye Construction Materials Industrialists’ Association (İMSAD).

The industry’s output growth was 7.4 percent in the final quarter of 2023, slowing from the previous quarter’s expansion of 13.5 percent, said the report.

Demand conditions in foreign markets remained weak while expansionary polices before the elections, urban transformation projects and construction activities in the regions which were affected by the earthquakes were the factors which determined production last year, according to the association.

The construction materials sector’s export revenues plunged 6.7 percent in December 2023 from a year ago to $2.43 billion. The pace of decline in exports accelerates in the final month of 2023, the report said, noting that the contraction in the construction sectors in the main export markets played a role in this.

Türkiye’s large construction sector grew by 10.8 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and expanded by 7.8 percent in the whole of 2023. This marked the first growth the construction sector registered since 2017.

The report by İMSAD also noted that confidence in the construction sector increased by 3.4 points in February, but the existing construction activities index was down by 3.8 points in the same month.

The index of new construction orders also fell 0.2 points last month, according to the report.

The latest numbers from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed that the decline in home sales continued. In January, 80,308 were sold in the country, a 17.8 percent drop from a year ago.