Survey of Advanced Technology

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Advanced technologies are used extensively in Canadian manufacturing plants, according to preliminary data from the 2007 Survey of Advanced Technology.

Although almost all (92%) manufacturing plants currently use at least one advanced technology, more than two-thirds (68%) use at least five advanced technologies.

An advanced technology is one that performs a new function or improves some function to make it significantly better than a traditional or more commonly used technology. For the purposes of the survey, 39 technologies divided into six functional areas were considered to be advanced.

Advanced technologies are used throughout the manufacturing process. The survey found that communications technologies were the most commonly used functional group of advanced technologies.

The most common advanced technology, company-wide computer networks (including Local Area Networks, Intranet and Wide Area Networks), was used by three-quarters (73%) of manufacturing plants.

The range of plants using at least five advanced technologies varied widely, from a high of 84% in computer and electronic product manufacturing to a low of 28% in leather and allied product manufacturing.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 4223.

Data on a limited number of variables from the survey are now available.

For more information, to obtain data tables from the survey, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Susan Schaan (613-951-1953; fax: 613-951-9920; susan.schaan@statcan.gc.ca), or Eric Turgeon (613-951-2170; fax: 613-951-9920; eric.turgeon@statcan.gc.ca), Science, Innovation and Electronic Information Division.

Table(s).