Capacity utilization rates in Canadian forest industries lag behind industry averages in second quarter

The Lesprom Network
September 8, 2023
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

In the second quarter of 2023, Canada’s forestry and logging sector had a capacity utilization rate of 73.2%, below the industry average of 81.4%, according to Statistics Canada. This represents a notable decline of 2.7 percentage points from the previous quarter’s rate of 75.9%. …The wood products sector also faced challenges, with capacity utilization at 75.7% in the second quarter of 2023. This reflects a slight decline of 0.7 percentage points from the previous quarter, when the rate was 76.4%. The year-over-year comparison shows a larger decline of 6.0 percentage points compared to the second quarter of 2022, when the rate was 81.7%. Lumber production in Canada decreased 6.6% from May to 3 744.2 thousand m3 in June 2023. Production was down 16.8% from June 2022. …The Canadian paper sector’s capacity utilization rate in the second quarter of 2023 was 81.9%, slightly below the industry average and down 0.9 percentage points from 82.8% in the previous quarter. 

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