Statistics Canada reported Monday that Canadian industries operated at 78.1 percent of their production capacity in Q3, up from 76.9 percent in Q2.
The capacity utilization rate in the manufacturing sector was 81.2 percent, up 16.4 percent from a low of 64.8 percent in Q2 2009; the increase is also fifth consecutive quarter of growth.
The biggest contributors to increased capacity use in manufacturing were the transportation equipment, machinery, fabricated metal products, computer and electronic products, primary metal, and food industries.
In the transportation equipment industry, capacity use rose from 70.3 percent to 74.3 percent, mainly the result of higher demand for motor vehicles.
Machinery manufacturers raised their capacity use to 85.4 percent, the third highest level on record for this industry. The third-quarter gain of 8.7 percent followed strong increases of 6.7 and 6.9 percent in the previous two quarters, respectively.
In the fabricated metal products manufacturing industry, factories increased capacity use from 71.9 percent to 76.7 percent.
Capacity use in the construction industry stayed unchanged at 71.8 percent, as a result of a reduction in repair expenditures.