Canadian industries operated at 81.1 percent of their production capacity in Q1, up from 80.5 percent in the previous quarter, according to a report from Statistics Canada. The first quarter growth followed two quarters of decline. Both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors contributed equally to the advance.
Mining, oil and gas extraction was the main source of the overall increase in capacity use in the first quarter. The construction industry operated at 80.7 percent of its capacity, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous quarter. This advance was attributable to growth in all types of construction except residential buildings.
The manufacturing sector operated at 79.7 percent of its capacity in the first quarter, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous quarter. The increase followed two quarters of decline. The capacity utilization rate rose in 12 of the 21 major industry groups, representing approximately 60 percent of the manufacturing sector.
In a separate report Friday, Statistics Canada said that manufacturing sales fell 2.4 percent in April to $48.2 billion - the fourth decline in five months and the largest monthly percentage drop since August 2009. Lower sales in the petroleum and coal product, and primary metal industries were largely responsible for the decline.
Sales were down in 13 of 21 industries, representing about 86 percent of Canadian manufacturing.
Primary metal manufacturing sales were down 8.7 percent in April to $3.4 billion - the lowest level since May 2010. There were widespread declines in the industry, which reflected lower volumes of goods sold. Sales in the primary metal industry have declined in four of the past five months. Since November 2012, sales have fallen by 11 percent.
Sales of transportation equipment were down 1.7 percent in April, following two months of gains. Notwithstanding the lower figure, April's sales were 14.2 percent higher than January 2013. Contributing to the decline was a 2.2 percent reduction in motor vehicle sales and a 3.3 percent drop in aerospace production.