Canadian manufacturing’s capacity utilization rate (not seasonally adjusted) increased from 76.4% in October to 78.8% in November thanks to higher production levels, Statistics Canada reports.
Transportation equipment manufacturers in particular showed a healthy gain in November with a 7.0 per cent increase over the previous month to 72.6 per cent capacity utilization, a welcomed sign given all the supply chain-related issues this sector has faced in 2021. Year-over-year, however, the sector’s capacity utilization is down 9.7 per cent.
Capacity utilization for durable goods manufacturers increased 3.2 per cent in November over the previous month to 77.3 per cent and is less than a percentage point behind in capacity utilization year-over-year for the month.
Fabricated metal product manufacturing improved its capacity utilization by 4.1 per cent in November, which represents a 7.5 per cent year-over-year gain.
Primary metal manufacturing, which has enjoyed record sales growth over the past year, experienced a slight dip (0.4 per cent) in capacity utilization, down to 76.3 per cent for November and less than a percentage point year-over-year.