Machinery manufacturing industry increased turnover by 29.2% last year. Machinery Manufacturing Sector Turkey and the World Assessment Report 2019 was published by Turkish Machinery Federation (MAKFED). The report prepared by Dr. Can Fuat Gürlesel deals with the current situation, development line and potential of the Turkish machinery industry.
According to the report, the turnover of the machinery industry increased by 29.2% to 109.61 billion TL in 2018 with the contribution of the increase in export and exchange rates. This figure was reported as the highest increase in recent years. The turnover of the machinery industry, which has been on an upward trend since 2010, constituted 5% of the total manufacturing industry turnover in 2018. With a comprehensive approach, the value of machinery exports increased by 14.5% in 2018 and reached 17.16 billion USD. In the same period, machinery exports increased by 12.6% on quantity basis.
Machinery manufacturing industry increased turnover: number of entrepreneurs increased, machinery investments shrank
In 2018, the economic conditions for the machinery industry became more difficult than in the previous year. Relatively favourable interest rates and stability in the Turkish lira were noted in the first half of the year, but both the increase in interest rates and the depreciation of the Turkish lira were effective in the second half of the year. None the less, in 2018, the number of enterprises in the machinery manufacturing industry increased to 17,050. However, machinery and equipment investments shrank in 2018. Since 2010, the share of the number of manufacturers in the machinery industry in the number of enterprises in the general manufacturing industry has gradually increased. This share increased from 3.94 in 2010 to 4.30 in 2018.
Due to the unfavourable economic conditions prevailing last year, the employment expansion of the machinery industry was severely limited and realized the lowest employment growth (1.8%) of recent years. Employment in the machinery industry was 243,550 in 2018. Among the total manufacturing industry employment, the employment of the machinery industry decreased from 5.95% in 2017 to 5.91% in 2018. Despite the increase in the number of entrepreneurs of the industry last year, the decrease in the employment rate of the machinery industry within the total manufacturing industry deserves attention.
Machinery manufacturers’ production value increased by 30%
In 2018, the production value of the machinery industry increased by 30% and reached 101.79 billion TL. The increase in the production value is largely due to producer price increases. The share of machinery manufacturers in the manufacturing industry decreased from 4.97% to 4.88% in 2018. On the other hand, the quantity increase in the machinery industry was 0.3%, which means a significant slowdown. According to the report, the sharp contraction in investments in the domestic market led to a shrinkage in the demand for machinery and equipment, while the increase in exports compensated for this contraction. The continuous growth trend of the machinery industry between 2010 and 2017 was interrupted in 2018.
Value added ratio of the sector increased
The machinery industry has been producing higher value-added products over the years. This increase was higher than the manufacturing industry average. The share of the added value created by the machinery industry in total manufacturing industry added value rose from 5.71% in 2010 to 6.30% in 2015. In 2018, this ratio has decreased to 6.12%.
In 2018, the capacity utilization rate in the machinery industry decreased by 4.6% points to 74.6%, the lowest level of the last 8 years. The capacity utilization rate decreased especially in the second half of the year and closed in December 2018 with 67.6%. It was underlined that the sharp contraction in domestic demand was effective in this process.
Labour productivity in the machinery industry decreased by 1.5% in 2018, limiting the performance of the industry. Lower utilization of installed capacity negatively impacted labour productivity. In the same period, labour productivity across the manufacturing industry declined by 1.4%.
Foreign capital investment in machinery manufacturing industry remains low
The interest of foreign capital in the machinery manufacturing industry was limited in 2018 and investments in were low. Following the 2016 and 2017 total foreign investments to Turkey also suffered a decline in 2018. While foreign capital investments in manufacturing industry decreased to 1.20 billion USD in 2017, it rose to 2.00 billion USD in 2018. Foreign capital investments in the machinery industry decreased from 35 million USD in 2017 to 22 million USD in 2018. This shows that the machinery industry cannot attract sufficient foreign capital investment considering its potential and its share in the manufacturing industry.
The report also reveals that the Turkish machinery industry is in the process of transition from the traditionally owned small-scale enterprises to the medium-sized enterprises. At the same time the employment and production value of large-scale companies also began to increase share. In 2018, the number of investment incentives received in the machinery industry; and the total size of incentives continued to increase. Last year, 407 investment incentive certificates were received with a total investment of 4.036 million TL. However, the average investment sizes in the machinery industry have been stagnating for the last three years. Average investment scales were realized as 11.93 million TL in 2016; 9,40 million TL in 2017 and 9.92 million TL in 2018.