Turkey's manufacturing capacity usage up in April

<p>By Gokhan Ergocun</p> <p>ISTANBUL (AA) – The Turkish manufacturing industry’s capacity utilization rate rose in April from the previous month, Turkey’s Central Bank said on Wednesday.</p> <p>The rate climbed 0.7 percentage points month-on-month to reach 75% in April, said the Central Bank survey.</p> <p>The capacity utilization rate (CUR) figures are based on responses to the bank's business tendency survey by local units operating in the manufacturing industry, according to the bank.</p> <p>The bank said the monthly data, gathered from some 1,745 companies in April, does not reflect its own views or predictions.</p> <p>Among over 20 sectors, the highest CUR in April was seen among manufacturers of tobacco products, with 85.13%. The lowest was among manufacturers of leather and related products, with 60.51%.</p> <p>In the six main industrial groups, the highest capacity usage was 74.70% for intermediate goods, while the lowest CUR was 71.40% for durable consumer goods.</p>