According to Statistics Canada, Canadian industries operated at 81.9 percent of their production capacity in the first quarter, up slightly from 81.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The capacity utilization rate in the manufacturing sector rose 1.0 percentage point to 78.1 percent in the first quarter. Capacity utilization increased in 13 of the 21 major manufacturing industry groups, representing approximately 75 percent of gross domestic product in the manufacturing sector. Transportation equipment manufacturing rose 3.7 percentage points to 80.7 percent in the first quarter. This quarter saw increased activity in motor vehicle manufacturing (+29.1 percent) as well as higher exports of passenger cars and light trucks (+25.9 percent).
Increases in capacity utilization rates in fabricated metal products manufacturing (+2.0 percentage points) and in petroleum and coal product manufacturing (+3.0 percentage points) also contributed to the gain in the manufacturing sector.
Capacity utilization in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector fell 0.9 percentage points to 79.5 percent in the first quarter. Decreased activity was observed in non-metallic mineral mining (-6.0 percent) and in oil and gas contract drilling (-7.9 percent). The construction sector fell 0.3 percentage points to 90.2 percent in the first quarter.