Domestic sales increased by 10.83 percent in dollar terms

According to the statement by the Automotive Aftermarket Products and Services Association (OSS), OSS evaluated the third quarter of the year specifically for the automotive aftermarket through a survey conducted with the participation of its members.

According to the OSS Association's 2023 Third Quarter Sectoral Evaluation Survey, the automotive aftermarket continued the upward trend that began in the last period of last year into the third quarter.

In the third quarter of 2023, domestic sales increased by an average of 10.83 percent in dollar terms compared to the second quarter of the year.

Again, in the third quarter of the year, there was an average increase of 17.02 percent in domestic sales in dollar terms compared to the same period in 2022. During this period, while a 19.69 percent increase in dollar terms was observed in the sales of distributor members, this rate was 15.38 percent for manufacturer members. The survey also included expectations for the last quarter of the year.

Accordingly, it was observed that a 3.1 percent increase in domestic sales in dollar terms is expected in the last quarter of 2023 in the sector. The survey also pointed to an 8.33 percent increase in sales in dollar terms compared to the same period last year.

The proportion of OSS Association members who stated that there was no change in collection processes, which was 61.8 percent in the second quarter of 2023, was 59.5 percent in the third quarter.

While 42.9 percent of the members participating in the survey increased their employment in the first quarter of the year, 52.4 percent of the members maintained their employment during the same period.

The proportion of members who stated that their employment decreased compared to the second quarter of the year remained at 4.8 percent.

CASH FLOW IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM

Problems in the sector constituted one of the most notable sections of the survey. While "problems experienced in cash flow" topped the list of problems observed by members in the third quarter of 2023, "supply problems" showed a downward trend compared to the previous period.

54.8 percent of members described problems in cash flow as the biggest difficulty for the sector. 45.2 percent of the survey participants pointed to cargo costs and delivery problems, and 42.9 percent pointed to foreign exchange rates and currency increases. In addition, 28.6 percent of participants listed supply problems, and 19 percent listed job losses, turnover, and problems experienced at customs as significant issues.

According to the survey, the proportion of members considering new investments in the next three months was 47.6 percent, which is higher than the previous period.

While 33.3 percent of manufacturer members were planning investments in the previous survey, this rate rose to 43.8 percent in the new survey. For distributor members, the rate, which was 50 percent, remained unchanged in this period. It was observed that 22.7 percent of the members participating in the survey predicted that the sector would improve in the next three months.

BOTH PRODUCTION AND EXPORTS ARE INCREASING

The average capacity utilization rate of manufacturers in the third quarter of the year was 79.38 percent.

This rate was 79.17 percent in the second quarter of 2023. In the third quarter, members' production increased by 9.06 percent compared to the previous quarter. In the third quarter of the year, members' exports showed an increase of 2.5 percent in dollar terms compared to the previous quarter and 5 percent compared to the same period in 2022.