Canadian industries operated at 78.5% of their production capacity in the third quarter. This is an increase from 77.6% in the second quarter, which was revised downward by 1.7 percentage points.
First increase in construction since the second quarter of 2023
Capacity utilization in the construction sector rose 1.3 percentage points to 80.2% in the third quarter. The increase was the first quarterly gain following eight consecutive declines. The increase in the third quarter coincided with higher activity in engineering construction.
Capacity utilization in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector increased 0.7 percentage points to 77.1% in the third quarter. This increase coincided with higher activity in oil and gas extraction, following a downturn in the previous quarter.
In contrast, the capacity utilization rate in the electric power generation, transmission and distribution sector fell 1.7 percentage points to 78.8% in the third quarter. This decline occurred amid a decline in hydroelectric generation due to dry conditions in some parts of the country during the quarter.
Chart 1: Industrial capacity utilization rate in non-manufacturing industries
Description - Chart 1
Data table: Industrial capacity utilization rate in non-manufacturing industries
Source: Table 16-10-0109-01.
Capacity utilization rate in manufacturing increases
The capacity utilization rate in the manufacturing sector increased 1.2 percentage points to 77.8% in the third quarter. This gain was driven by petroleum and coal product manufacturing (+10.8 percentage points) and transportation equipment manufacturing (+1.8 percentage points).
Chart 2: Variation by industry, in percentage points, third quarter of 2025 compared with second quarter of 2025
Description - Chart 2
Data table: Variation by industry, in percentage points, third quarter of 2025 compared with second quarter of 2025
Source: Table 16-10-0109-01.
Note to readers
The industrial capacity utilization rate is the ratio of an industry's actual output to its estimated potential output.
This program covers all manufacturing industries, as well as forestry and logging; mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; electric power generation, transmission and distribution; and construction.
For non-manufacturing industries, the quarterly pattern is derived from the output-to-capital ratio series, the output being the real gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, seasonally adjusted, by industry.
In this release, the industrial capacity utilization rates from the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing were seasonally adjusted using X-12-ARIMA from the first quarter of 2017.
Data have been revised back to the first quarter of 2022 to account for revisions to the source data and new estimates from the statistical model. These revisions are consistent with those incorporated in the release on monthly GDP by industry, published on November 28, 2025, and in the release on stock and consumption of fixed capital, published on November 18, 2025.
Next release
Data on industrial capacity utilization rates for the fourth quarter of 2025 will be released on March 13, 2026.
Contact information
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