Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that Canadian industries operated at 79 percent of their production capacity in Q1, up 2.2 percent from 76.8 percent in Q1 2010. Capacity use in manufacturing saw the largest year-on-year growth rate, rising 2.8 percent to 79.7 percent in Q1 2011. Capacity use rose in 18 of the 21 major manufacturing industries in Q1, led by transportation equipment, machinery and fabricated metal products.
Capacity use in the transportation equipment sector rose 3.7 percent to 83.8 percent in Q1, led by demand for motor vehicles. In the fabricated metals industry, capacity use was 77.8 percent in Q1, up 2.8 percent over Q4 2010, and a 10 percent jump over Q1 2010.