Industrial capacity utilization rates, third quarter 2014
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Released: 2014-12-11
Canadian industries operated at 83.4% of their production capacity in the third quarter, up from 82.8% in the previous quarter. The manufacturing and construction industries were the main sources of this increase.
More specifically, increases in capacity utilization in manufacturing, construction as well as mining and quarrying more than offset declines in electric power generation, transmission and distribution, oil and gas extraction as well as forestry and logging.
Chart 1
Fifth consecutive increase in industrial capacity utilization rate
Food manufacturing and transportation equipment manufacturing contribute to higher capacity utilization in manufacturing
The manufacturing sector operated at 83.8% of its capacity in the third quarter, up 1.0 percentage point from the previous quarter. The food manufacturing and transportation equipment manufacturing industries were mainly responsible for this increase.
The capacity utilization rate rose in 15 of the 21 major manufacturing groups, accounting for about 80% of the manufacturing sector's gross domestic product.
The capacity utilization rate was down in six industries, led by paper manufacturing.
Chart 2
Capacity utilization in manufacturing strengthens
Higher output in every food manufacturing subsector except fruit and vegetable preserving was responsible for a 2.2 percentage-point increase in the industry's capacity utilization rate. The rate was 80.5% in the third quarter, its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2011.
Higher production of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts was the main source of an increase in the capacity utilization rate in the transportation equipment industry. The rate rose from 94.2% in the second quarter to 95.6% in the third quarter.
In the machinery manufacturing industry, capacity use fell 1.5 percentage points to 80.7% in the third quarter. This decline was attributable to lower production of all types of machinery except agricultural and industrial machinery.
Capacity utilization in construction continues to increase
Increases in capacity utilization in construction as well as mining and quarrying more than offset declines in the other non-manufacturing industries.
For a second consecutive quarter, capacity use in construction was up, rising from 84.1% to 84.9%. With the exception of engineering construction, all construction subsectors made positive contributions to this increase.
In the mining and quarrying industry, the rate rose 1.8 percentage points to 69.3% in the third quarter. Most subsectors in this industry contributed to the increase.
Note to readers
The industrial capacity utilization rate is the ratio of an industry's actual output to its estimated potential output.
For most industries, the annual estimates are obtained from the Capital and Repair Expenditures Survey while the quarterly pattern is derived from the output-to-capital ratio series, the output being the real gross domestic product at basic prices, seasonally adjusted, by industry.
This program covers all manufacturing as well as forestry and logging, mining and oil and gas extraction, electric power generation, transmission and distribution, and construction.
With this release on industrial capacity utilization rates, data were revised back to the first quarter of 2013 to reflect updated source data.
Data on industrial capacity utilization rates for the fourth quarter of 2014 will be released on March 12, 2015.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@canada.ca).
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