Latest News Stream - Capacity Utilization

Turkey’s manufacturing capacity utilization rate rose to 74.5% in October 2026 from 74.2% in the previous month, marking the highest rate recorded since June 2026. The increase was supported by higher utilization across most major industry groupings, particularly consumer goods, where the rate climbed to 72.3% from 71.4% in the previous month. Non-durable consumer goods utilization increased to 73.1% from 72.5%, while durable consumer goods rebounded to 68.5% from 66.4%. Investment goods utilization also rose to 73.4% from 73.1%, indicating improved capacity usage in industries producing capital goods. Meanwhile, intermediate goods utilization edged down to 74.4% from 74.5%, although remaining the highest among the main industry groupings.

The industrial capacity utilization rate in China fell to 73.1% in the third quarter of 2026 from 74.6% in the corresponding period in the previous year. The decline was driven by lower production across the three major categories, such as the mining industry (69.5% vs 72.5% in Q3 2025), manufacturing industry (73.3% vs 74.8%), and electricity, heat, gas, and water supply (72.6% vs 74.3%). Among major industries, automobile manufacturing (66.2% vs 73.3%) recorded the sharpest decline, followed by ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry (75.1% vs 80.1%), and non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry (73.5% vs 77.8%), while specialized equipment manufacturing industry (77.7% vs 79.9%) were among the strongest performers. Compared with the second quarter, industrial capacity utilization was over two-year low of 73%, up 0.1 percentage points.

Industrial capacity utilization in the US rose to 76.9% in September 2026, the highest since December 2023, from an upwardly revised 76.4% in August and above market expectations of 76.5%. Despite the improvement since the beginning of the year, the figure remained below its long-run average of 79.4%. Among the major sectors, the rate for mining edged up 0.1 percentage point to 87.5%, about 2.3 percentage points above its long-run average. The operating rate for utilities increased 2.3 percentage points to 73.8%, though it remained 10.2 percentage points below its historical average. Capacity utilization for manufacturing increased 0.1 percentage point to 75.9%, a rate that is 2.3 percentage points below its long run average.

The manufacturing industry in Turkey operated at 74.2% of its production capacity in September 2026, marking the highest rate since June and up from a five-month low of 73.5% in the previous month. The increase was driven mainly by investment goods, where capacity utilization jumped to 73.1% from 69.7%, pointing to stronger activity in capital-intensive industries. Utilization also increased for non-durable consumer goods, rising to 72.5% from 72.2%, while food and beverages edged up to 71.6% from 71.4%. On the other hand, durable consumer goods utilization fell to 66.4% from 68.2%, while overall consumer goods utilization eased to 71.4% from 71.6%. Intermediate goods utilization also declined slightly to 74.5% from 74.7%, although it remained the highest among the major categories.

Industrial capacity utilization in the US was unchanged from the previous month at 76.3% in August of 2026, the highest in one year, but slightly under market expectations of 76.4%. Despite the growing momentum since the start of the year, the result remained well under the long-run average of 79.4%. Capacity rose for manufacturing (76% vs 75.9 in July) as utilization rates continued to surge for computer and electronic products (77.2% vs 76.2%) and electrical equipment (86.6% vs 85.5%), aligned with soaring levels of capital expenditure on AI infrastructure and compute. Meanwhile, nondurable manufacturing utilization rates fell to 75.6% from 76%.

The manufacturing industry in Turkey operated at 73.5% of its production capacity in August 2026, down from 73.9% in the previous month. This marked the lowest rate since March, with the decline driven mainly by investment goods, where capacity utilization fell sharply to 69.7% from 71.2%, pointing to weaker activity in capital-intensive industries and potentially softer investment demand. Utilization in food and beverages also declined to 71.4% from 72.0%, while intermediate goods remained the strongest-performing category despite easing slightly to 74.7% from 74.9%. Non-durable consumer goods utilization edged down to 72.2% from 72.3%. Meanwhile, overall consumer goods utilization increased to 71.6% from 71.4%, supported by durable consumer goods, which rose to 68.2% from 67.1%.

US capacity utilization edged up to 76.3% in July 2026, the highest level in a year, from an upwardly revised 76.2% in June, matching market expectations. Despite the modest increase, the utilization rate remained 3.1 percentage points below its 1972-2025 historical average. Among the major sectors, utilities utilization rose the most, increasing 0.2 percentage points to 70%, although it also remained below its historical average. Manufacturing utilization increased 0.1 percentage point to 76%. Mining utilization also rose 0.1 percentage point to 86.1%, staying 0.9 percentage points above its long-term average.

The manufacturing industry in Turkey operated at 73.9% of its production capacity in July 2026, easing from a one-year high of 74.5% in the previous month. This marked the lowest rate since April, driven mainly by investment goods, where capacity utilization fell to 71.2% from 73.4%, pointing to softer activity in capital-intensive industries. Durable consumer goods also declined to 67.1% from 67.9%, while overall consumer goods utilization eased to 71.4% from 71.8%. Non-durable consumer goods slipped to 72.3% from 72.6%, and food and beverages fell to 72.0% from 72.5%. Meanwhile, intermediate goods remained the strongest-performing category, edging down slightly to 74.9% from 75.0%.

US capacity utilization stood at 76.1% in June 2026, unchanged from the previous month following a downward revision and slightly below market expectations of 76.2%. The reading marked a third consecutive month of stable capacity utilization, remaining 3.3 percentage points below its long-run average for 1972–2025. Among the major sectors, the operating rate for utilities edged up 0.2 percentage points to 69.5%, though it remained 14.5 percentage points below its historical average. Mining utilization also increased, rising 0.4 percentage points to 87.4%. By contrast, manufacturing capacity utilization edged down to 75.7%, remaining 2.5 percentage points below its long-run average.

The industrial capacity utilization rate in China fell to 73% in the second quarter of 2026 from 74% in the corresponding period in the previous year. This marked the lowest reading since the first quarter of 2024, driven by lower production across the three major categories, such as the mining industry (69.1% vs 72.7% in Q2 2025), manufacturing industry (73.5% vs 74.3%), and electricity, heat, gas, and water supply (70.4% vs 71.5%). Among major industries, coal mining and washing (61.2% vs. 69.3%) recorded the sharpest decline, while general equipment manufacturing (80.1% vs. 78.3%) and computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing (78.7% vs. 77.3%) were among the strongest performers. Compared with the first quarter, industrial capacity utilization rose to 73.6%, up 0.6 percentage points. For the first half of the year, capacity utilization averaged 73.3%, down 0.7 percentage points from the same period in 2025.

The manufacturing industry in Turkey operated at 74.5% of its production capacity in June 2026, up from 74.2% in the previous month. This marked the highest rate since June last year, driven mainly by a sharp increase in capacity utilization for investment goods, which rose to 73.4% from 70.3%, signaling stronger activity in capital-intensive industries. Intermediate goods utilization remained broadly stable at 75.0% compared with 75.2% in May, continuing to post the highest rate among major sectors. However, most consumer-oriented categories showed weaker performance. Capacity usage for durable consumer goods fell to 67.9% from 70.6%, while non-durable consumer goods eased to 72.6% from 73.1%. Overall consumer goods utilization also declined to 71.8% from 72.7%, and food and beverages slipped to 72.5% from 73.2%.

US capacity utilization rose to 76.2% in May 2026, up from 76.1% in April and in line with market expectations. Manufacturing utilization remained largely unchanged at 75.7%, remaining below its long-run averge of 78.2%. Mining utilization rose to 86.5%, 1.3 percentage points above its long-run average, while the rate for utilities fell to 70.6%, remained substantially below its long-run average, at 13.4 percentage points lower. Meanwhile, the operating rate for mining increased by 1.2 percentage points to 86.5%, while the utilities operating rate declined to 70.6%.

The manufacturing industry in Turkey operated at 74.2% of its production capacity in May 2026, the highest level since December 2025, from 73.8% in the previous month. Capacity utilization increased across several categories, including durable consumer goods, which rose to 70.6% from 68.9% in April, and non-durable consumer goods, which edged up to 73.1% from 72%. Consumer goods overall also increased to 72.7% from 71.5%. Intermediate goods inched higher to 75.2% from 74.9%, while food and beverages rose to 73.2% from 72.4%. Meanwhile, capacity utilization in investment goods remained unchanged at 70.3%.

The manufacturing industry in Turkey operated at 73.8% of its production capacity in April 2026, up from a five-and-a-half-year low of 73.3% in the previous month. The latest figure also marked the highest reading since January, largely driven by stronger utilization in investment goods, which rose to 70.3% from 69.5%, alongside a slight uptick in intermediate goods to 74.9% from 74.7%. Durable consumer goods also edged higher to 68.9% from 68.7%. However, some categories showed mild weakness, as non-durable consumer goods utilization slipped to 72.0% from 72.4%, while overall consumer goods eased to 71.5% from 71.7%. Capacity use in food and beverages also declined slightly to 72.4% from 72.6%.

US capacity utilization fell to 75.7% in March 2026, down from a downwardly revised 76.1% in February and below market expectations of 76.3%. The rate stands 3.7 percentage points below its long-run average for 1972–2025, with declines broad-based across sectors. The utilities sector saw the sharpest drop, with its operating rate falling to 70.3%, 13.7 percentage points below its historical average. Manufacturing utilization edged down to 75.3%, leaving it 2.9 percentage points below average, while mining utilization declined to 84.5%, or 0.7 percentage points below its long-run average.

China’s industrial capacity utilization rate fell to 73.6 percent in the first quarter of 2026 from 74.1 percent in the same period a year earlier. This marked the lowest reading since the first quarter of 2024, driven by lower production across the three major categories, such as the mining industry (72.1 percent vs 74.6 percent in Q1 2025), manufacturing industry (73.9 percent vs 74.1 percent), and electricity, heat, gas, and water supply (71.9 percent vs 73.6 percent). Compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, industrial capacity utilization was at 74.9 percent, or 1.3 percentage points lower. In 2025, capacity utilization averaged at 74.4 percent, down 0.6 percentage points in the same period a year ago.

The manufacturing industry in Turkey operated at 73.3% of its production capacity in March 2026, down from 73.5% in the previous month. This marked the lowest reading since August 2020, mainly driven by weaker utilization in investment goods, which fell further to 69.5% from 70.1%, alongside a slight drop in intermediate goods to 74.7% from 74.9%. Capacity use in food and beverages also inched lower to 72.6% from 72.5%. Meanwhile, some categories showed resilience, as durable consumer goods utilization rose to 68.7% from 66.7%, and non-durable consumer goods edged up to 72.4% from 72.1%. Overall consumer goods production also improved slightly to 71.7% from 71.2%, partially offsetting broader declines.

US capacity utilization stood at 76.3% in February 2026, unchanged from the previous month and 3.1 percentage points below its long-run average for 1972–2025. In the manufacturing sector, utilization remained flat at 75.6%, which is 2.6 percentage points below its historical average. The operating rate in mining rose by 0.7 percentage points to 85.0%, while the utilities sector saw a 0.7-point decline to 73.0%. Despite the monthly increase, mining utilization remained 0.2 percentage points below its long-run average, while utilities operated at a rate 11.0 percentage points below theirs.

Canadian industrial capacity utilization fell to 78.5% in Q4 2025 from an upwardly revised 78.9% in the previous quarter, but came slightly above market expectations of 78.4%. Capacity utilization in the construction sector declined by 0.5 percentage points to 80.4%, marking the eighth drop in the past ten quarters, amid weaker activity in residential and engineering construction. The capacity utilization rate in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector also decreased, falling 0.6 percentage points to 77.1%, in line with lower oil sands extraction activity. Meanwhile, capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector slipped 0.3 percentage points to 77.7%, mainly due to declines in fabricated metal product manufacturing (-6.6 percentage points) and wood product manufacturing (-1.4 percentage points), the latter affected by the US government’s announcement of additional tariffs on Canadian lumber during the quarter.

The manufacturing industry in Turkey operated at 73.5% of its production capacity in February 2026, down from 74.1% in January. This marked the lowest reading since August 2025, reflecting a continued slowdown in industrial activity at the start of the year. Capacity utilization declined mainly in the production of investment goods, which fell to 70.1% from 71.5%, and in non-durable consumer goods, dropping to 72.1% from 72.4%. Output for food and beverages also eased to 72.5% from 72.8%, while the use of intermediate goods slipped to 74.9% from 75.2%. In contrast, utilization for durable consumer goods saw a slight increase to 66.7% from 65.5%, and overall consumer goods remained stable at 71.2%.