More good news for Alberta’s economy from Statistics Canada.

In a report released on Wednesday, the federal agency said Canadian industries operated at 85.5 per cent of their production capacity in the second quarter, up from 83.7 per cent in the first quarter.

This follows a slight decrease in capacity utilization in the first quarter of 2018 from the fourth quarter of 2017.

“The increase in the second quarter of 2018 was led by the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector and, to a lesser extent, the manufacturing sector,” said StatsCan.

“The capacity utilization rate of the oil and gas extraction subsector increased for a fifth consecutive quarter, rising from 82.7 per cent in the first quarter to 87.1 per cent in the second quarter. The rate has risen 7.6 percentage points since the first quarter of 2017, due to lower oil transportation capacity combined with higher oil prices in the second quarter, resulting in increased production.”

Mario Toneguzzi is a veteran Calgary-based journalist who worked for 35 years for the Calgary Herald, including 12 years as a senior business writer.

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