Industrial Capacity Utilization Declines in October

Reform.news Editorial Team · 29 October 2026, 09:37

https://reform.news/en/industrial-capacity-utilization-declines-in-october/

The Ministry of Economy has published the results of a business sentiment survey conducted in October.

The findings show that both capacity utilization and order coverage declined in the industrial sector.

“Average industrial capacity utilization stood at 68%, while the average order coverage period was 2.7 months,” the ministry said.

Compared with the September survey, capacity utilization fell by 1 percentage point, while order coverage decreased by 0.2 months.

In October, 67% of respondents reported an increase or no change in output during the reporting period, while 72% noted rising or stable demand. Both indicators were also down by 1 percentage point compared with September.

“For the second consecutive month, around 35% of survey participants have reported a trend toward declining inventories,” the ministry added.

The share of respondents reporting stable employment at their companies rose by 3 percentage points to 76%, while the share reporting an increase in employment fell by 2 percentage points to 11%.

Some 22% of executives plan to increase investment over the next three months, while 68% expect current trends to remain unchanged.

“In the short term, nearly half of senior executives believe that current demand levels will remain unchanged, while 30% of respondents forecast an increase. A total of 76% of respondents plan to maintain current employment levels, 42% expect industrial output to remain at its current level, and 35% of company executives anticipate an increase in production. One-third of directors plan to increase profits,” the Ministry of Economy added.