Business morale and capacity utilization edge up in December

ANKARA

Both the manufacturing industry capacity utilization and the business confidence and indices edged up in December compared with the previous month, according to official data on Dec. 25.

The capacity utilization rate rose to 74.2 percent in December, a Central Bank survey said.

The figure was up by 0.1 percentage points monthly from 74.1 percent in November.

The highest utilization in December was 75.3 percent for intermediate goods, up 0.1 percentage points from November.

The lowest utilization rate was 68.5 percent in durable consumer goods, down 1.4 percentage points from the previous month.

Broken down by sector, the highest capacity usage was in the manufacturing of wood products at 83.8 percent, while the lowest, 62.4 percent, was in leather.

The capacity utilization rate figures are based on responses from a business tendency survey of local manufacturing units.

The Central Bank said 1,828 companies responded to the survey this month, and the data does not reflect the bank's views or predictions.

Separate data from the Central Bank on Dec. 25 showed that the seasonally adjusted real sector confidence index rose slightly to 103.7 in December from 103.2 in November.

The sub‑index measuring the general business situation improved to 92.9 from 91, while expectations for output over the next three months climbed to 119.8 from 116.5.

The employment outlook in manufacturing also strengthened, with the index rising to 103.7 from 102.2.

However, the current total orders index slipped to 86.3 from 88.2 in November.

Orders received over the past three months edged down to 104.6 from 104.8, while export orders for the coming quarter fell to 117.4 from 119.2.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reported mixed trends in business confidence across sectors.

Sentiment in services rose 0.4 percent month‑on‑month in December, following a 1 percent increase in November. Retail confidence gained 1.1 percent, accelerating from November’s 0.9 percent rise.

In contrast, confidence in the construction sector declined 0.5 percent after a 1.5 percent increase the previous month.