Turkey's manufacturing capacity up in December

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The capacity utilization rate (CUR) of Turkey's manufacturing industry increased month-on-month in December, official data showed on Monday.

The rate increased by 0.6 percentage points to 78.6% this month, compared to November, according to a Turkish Central Bank survey.

Among the main industrial groups, the highest CUR was 80.3% for intermediate goods, while the lowest was 73.3% for durable consumer goods.

On the sectoral side, the highest capacity usage was in the manufacturing of wood and wood/cork products, excluding furniture, at 84.9% in this month, while the lowest was in leather production at 66.6%.

The figures are based on responses to the bank’s business tendency survey from local units operating in the manufacturing industry, the bank said.

The monthly data, which was collected from 1,759 companies in December, does not reflect the bank's views or predictions.