Manufacturing capacity utilization rises in September

ANKARA

The capacity utilization rate (CUR) in the key manufacturing industry improved from 76.7 percent in August to 77.4 percent in September, data from the Central Bank have shown.

In the durable consumer goods, the capacity usage rate eased from 77.2 percent last month to 74.9 percent, while in the non-durable goods sector CUR fell slightly from 74.4 percent to 74.2 percent.

Companies operating in the consumer goods sector worked at 74.3 percent capacity in August, down from the previous month’s 74.9 percent, according to the Central Bank data released on Sept. 26.

In the food industry, the capacity utilization rate improved from 73.1 percent to 73.6 percent, and in the intermediate goods manufacturing sector, the CUR dropped from 78.3 percent to 77.4 percent.

The capital goods sector saw a large improvement in capacity usage in September, with the CUR advancing from 72.2 percent in August to 78.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Sept. 26 upgraded its GDP growth forecast for Türkiye for 2022 from a previous 3.7 percent to 5.4 percent, while keeping the growth estimate unchanged at 3 percent for next year.

Business morale deteriorates

Separate data the Central Bank released yesterday showed that the deterioration in business morale continued in September.

The real sector confidence index declined for the fifth month in a row, falling from 102.1 in August to 99.9. For the first time since June 2020, the index dropped below the 100-mark.

Any index figure above 100 indicates optimism among companies.

The sub-index measuring companies’ assessment of the general business situation improved from 79.7 last month to 84.5 in September.

The sub-index for current orders fell from 86.2 to 79.4, while the sub-index for the amount of stocks of finished goods dropped from 95.3 to 89.6.

The index for production volume in the next three months was down from 116.7 to 112.2 and the index for orders received in the past three months fell from 95.8 to 94.8.

The index for export orders in the next three months also declined from 117.1 in August to 110.1 in September.

Total employment in the next three months dropped from 112.5 to 108.5, but the sub-index for fixed investment expenditure inched up from 119.1 to 119.7.

Meanwhile, confidence in the services, retail and construction sectors improved in September compared to August, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said separately on Sept. 26

Confidence in the services, which fell 1.3 percent on a monthly basis in August, increased by 1.7 percent, while in the retail sector the confidence index rose 2.7 percent month-on-month in September after deteriorating 0.4 percent. The index for the construction sector, which advanced 1.5 percent last month, was up 2.1 percent.