Stands below 70% for 5 Months Running
Non-large manufacturers’ average capacity utilization reached 67 percent in June this year with a year-on-year decline of 6.9 percentage points. The average, which had been 70.6 percent in January, fell to 69.6 percent in February and remained below 70 percent for the fifth consecutive month.
The average remaining below that level for that long period was for the first time in 11 years and this implies the sluggish consumption triggered by COVID-19 had a significant impact on the manufacturers.
By manufacturing sector, the average in leather, bag and shoe stood at 57.0 percent in June this year. Those in automobile and trailer, textile, printing and recording, and non-metal mineral product were 59.5 percent, 60.3 percent, 61 percent, and 62.9 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, beverage (76.1 percent), electronic component, computer, video and telecommunications equipment (74.6 percent) and food (70.2 percent) topped 70 percent.
In the meantime, the Korea Federation of SMEs recently conducted a survey with 921 small and medium-sized enterprises and no less than 80.4 percent of the respondents mentioned economic recession as their biggest difficulty in the first half of this year and 79.1 percent mentioned it is likely to remain their biggest difficulty in the second half. As to their hurdles in the first half, 38.6 percent, 32.2 percent, 31.8 percent and 12.3 percent mentioned financing difficulties, raised minimum wages, excessive competition and shortened working hours, respectively.