Turkey’s manufacturing capacity use inches down in Jan.

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s manufacturing industry used 75.4% of its production capacity in January, marking a slight drop month-on-month, the country's Central Bank reported on Monday.

The capacity utilization rate (CUR) of the manufacturing industry inched down by 0.2 percentage points from 75.6% last month.

The CUR figures are based on the responses given to its business tendency survey by local units operating in the manufacturing industry, according to the bank.

It said the monthly data does not reflect the bank’s views or predictions, while some 1,700 companies responded to the survey in January.

Among the six main industrial groups, the highest capacity usage was 77.8% for intermediate goods, while non-durable consumer goods posted the lowest CUR with 70.6%.

Among more than 20 sectors, the highest CUR was seen in wood and wood/cork products -- excluding furniture -- at 85.4%. January's lowest capacity usage was recorded by leather and related products at 58%.