中文Turkey’s Leather Sector Posts Lowest Capacity Use Among Manufacturers as National Rate Climbs
Turkey’s leather industry recorded the lowest capacity utilization rate of any manufacturing branch in the country this September, according to data released by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye (CBRT). The figure — 59.8% — lands well below the national manufacturing average, which actually rose to 74.2% in the same month.
The gap is striking. While Turkish industry as a whole showed signs of stabilization, with capacity use edging up 0.7 percentage points from August, the leather segment was left trailing far behind.
A sector out of step with the recovery
The CBRT’s September survey covered 1,982 companies across Turkey’s manufacturing sector. Among the specific branches monitored, wood products manufacturing posted the highest utilization at 83.7% — a full 23.9 points above leather. The leather industry’s 59.8% places it at the very bottom of the table.
Capacity utilization measures how much of a plant’s potential output is actually being used. A reading near 60% suggests that roughly two-fifths of leather production capacity sat idle in September. For an industry built on throughput, margins, and export competitiveness, that is a worrying signal.
Reading the numbers with caution
The Central Bank is careful to frame the figures as survey-based estimates rather than official statistics. The capacity utilization data are drawn from responses by domestic manufacturing units and “do not constitute official statistical measurements or forecasts,” the CBRT noted. Still, the directional message is hard to dismiss: leather is lagging just as other Turkish manufacturers regain momentum.
The weakness comes at a delicate time. Turkey has been positioning itself as a competitive alternative sourcing hub for European fashion and footwear brands seeking to diversify supply chains away from more volatile regions. Investments such as Iskefe Holding’s planned $240 million bio-campus — combining leather and bio-industrial manufacturing — point to long-term confidence in the sector’s strategic value.
What it means for the market
Low capacity use typically reflects soft order books, cautious buyer behavior, or inventory overhang. For Turkish tanneries and finished-leather producers, the priority now is converting idle capacity back into output without sacrificing the quality premium that justifies their position in global supply chains.
The contrast with wood products — a sector riding a construction and furniture upswing — highlights how uneven Turkey’s industrial recovery has become. Leather’s path back to healthier utilization will depend on demand from Europe and the Middle East, where economic sentiment remains fragile.
For now, the September data is a reminder that not every Turkish manufacturer is sharing in the cautious rebound. The leather industry, historically one of the country’s most export-oriented branches, finds itself the laggard precisely when momentum matters most.
Source: Leather News (leathernews.org)
