Capacity utilization measures the extent to which Japanese manufacturing companies make use of their installed productive capacity (factories and machinery). Capacity utilization reflects overall growth and demand in the economy. High capacity utilization usually exerts inflationary pressures as scarce resources are in high demand. However, it may also lead to new capital investments, such as new plants, that promote growth in the future.

As a technical note, capacity utilization is referred to as Operating Ratio by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and indexed to the year 2000 with a base value of 100. The headline figure is the percentage change in the index from the previous month or previous year.

Relevance : Rarely affects markets
Release schedule : 4:30 (GMT); monthly, in the middle of the following month
Revisions schedule : Revised two weeks following the release of the preliminary report and annually when seasonal adjustments are made
Source of report : Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Web Address : http://www.meti.go.jp/english/index.html
Address of Release : http://www.meti.go.jp/english/statistics/index.html , refer to the Revised Report on Indices of Industrial Production, Operating Ratio.
AKA : Capacity Utilization Rate, Operating Ratio