Canadian capacity utilization sees biggest rise on record in Q3 thanks to oil, gas extraction

The massive Fort McMurray wildfire along with scheduled outages at oilsands facilities negatively affected Canadian capacity utilization. Twitter photo.

Canadian capacity utilization up to 81.9 per cent

OTTAWA, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Canada’s industrial capacity saw its biggest gain on record in the third quarter as oil and gas production resumed following wildfires in northern Alberta, data from Statistics Canada showed on Thursday.

Canadian capacity utilization rose to 81.9 percent from a revised 79.7 per cent in the second quarter. The rise was the largest quarterly increase since the agency began tracking industrial capacity in 1987.

Oil and gas extraction was the main contributor, with capacity in the sector rising to 82.3 percent. Wildfires in the Fort McMurray area in May, as well as scheduled maintenance outages, had disrupted operations in the second quarter.

In the manufacturing sector, firms operated at 82.6 percent of capacity, up from a revised 81.9 percent in the second quarter. The sector was lifted by manufacturing in non-durable goods, including in the food manufacturing industry.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Nick Zieminski)