Capacity utilization rates of many industries in Turkey, including steel, copper and aluminum, fell below 70 percent, mainly due to recession expectations in the EU and high energy costs in the country. The industry representatives talked to Turkish newspaper EKONOMİ, asking for some measures to tackle high energy costs and to preserve competitiveness of the exporters.
Regarding the steel industry, the capacity utilization rate has decreased to 50 percent. Veysel Yayan, secretary general of the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD), said that the decrease in capacity utilization rates was due to the contraction in global steel demand and the increase in energy costs. Stating that the competitiveness of the Turkish steel industry could not recover due to the current natural gas and electricity prices, Mr. Yayan reminded that energy prices in rival countries declined with government support, while the Turkish steel industry is not supported regarding the energy prices. Veysel Yayan stated that the energy prices in the country should be reviewed in parallel with the global prices.
The capacity utilization rate in the Turkish basic metal manufacturing industry decreased to 75.3 percent in November and 75.1 percent in December, according to the provisional data released by the Central Bank of Turkey.
