Canada: Industries operated at 86.1% of their production capacity in Q1

"Canadian industries operated at 86.1% of their production capacity in the first quarter, up from 85.6% in the previous quarter," Statistics Canada reported recently. Below are key quotes from the publication.

• This was the seventh consecutive quarterly gain and the longest sequence of increases since the third quarter of 2009 to the first quarter of 2011.
• The increase in the first quarter of 2018 was mainly attributable to the construction sector and, to a lesser extent, the manufacturing sector.
• The capacity utilization rate in the construction industry posted a seventh consecutive quarterly increase, rising from 90.8% in the fourth quarter to 92.4% in the first quarter.