March 22, 2018•Update: March 22, 2018
By Muhammed Ali Gurtas
ANKARA
The capacity utilization rate of Turkey’s manufacturing industry held at nearly 78 percent in March, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) announced on Thursday.
The bank reported that the capacity utilization rate (CUR) showed no change this month, compared with 77.8 percent in February.
Official data showed that beverage sector manufacturers saw the lowest CUR in March -- 60.5 percent -- while paper and paper product sector manufacturers used 88.1 percent of their capacity, which was the highest level.
On the main industrial groupings side, the highest capacity usage was seen in investment goods with 83.8 percent while the lowest was seen in durable consumer goods, standing at 72.1 percent.
CUR figures are based on the responses given to the CBRT business tendency survey by local units operating in the manufacturing industry. According to the Central Bank, over 2,000 companies responded to the survey in March, and the monthly data does not reflect the bank’s views or predictions.
In 2017, the average capacity usage in the manufacturing industry was 78.5 percent. Over the past five years, the highest CUR was seen last November with 79.9 percent, and the lowest was seen at 73.5 percent in February 2013.
