The capacity utilization rates of modern data networks have long been known to be remarkably low.

We proposed maintaining the support measures until the normal production capacity utilisation rate was restored.

And today's capacity utilization rates, in the 82 to 85 percent range, are well below the levels at which inflation might spike upward.

On the other hand, capacity utilization rates show no signs of excess demand in product markets."

Many analysts say the Fed becomes concerned about inflation when the capacity utilization rate nears 84 to 85 percent.

These policies risk nipping growth in the bud when it has barely become positive again, even though capacity utilisation rates remain low.

An 85 percent capacity utilization rate has been considered a point that would translate into production bottlenecks and higher prices on manufactured goods.

Implicitly, the capacity utilization rate is also an indicator of how efficiently the factors of production are being used.

A. With unemployment rising and the capacity utilization rate at 75 percent and falling, it is hard to fear overheating.

Such an assessment is all the more important in the European Union, where the production capacity utilisation rate is at an all-time low.

According to Mr. Hefter, the chemical industry is now operating at the highest capacity utilization rates since 1951.

The average economy-wide capacity utilization rate in the US since 1967 was about 81.6%, according to the Federal Reserve measure.

In addition, the capacity utilization rate at factories increased to 82 percent in April from 81.2 percent in March.

All else constant, the lower capacity utilization falls (relative to the trend capacity utilization rate), the better the bond market likes it.

One of the most used definitions of the "capacity utilization rate" is the ratio of actual output to the potential output.

Trade association officials attributed the decline to cutbacks in capital spending resulting from changes in the tax laws, a sluggish economy, and low capacity utilization rates.

Mr. Silver said the rise in tool orders had been consistent with firmer capital goods orders and a stronger capacity utilization rate.

Moreover, companies cannot increase their output of goods and services, as measured by the so-called capacity utilization rate, because it has reached a very high 84.9 percent through October.

There remains a glut of capital equipment, and the capacity utilization rate, representing how much of the nation's potential output is being used, recently stood around 75 percent.

As a result, the capacity utilization rate fell slightly in September, to 83.3 percent from 83.4 percent, well below the level where inflationary bottlenecks start pushing prices up.

"These capacity utilization rates don't relate very much to anything we know," said Wynn Van Bussman, an economist for the Chrysler Corporation.

Economists consider an 85 percent capacity utilization rate the point at which factories have trouble keeping up with orders, causing bottlenecks that can set off an upward inflationary spiral.

In December, the output of mines moved up 0.3 percent, and the capacity utilization rate for mining rose to 92.8 percent, a level 5.4 percentage points above its long-run average.

Higher Rates Criticized Worries about overheated economies are warranted, many economists say, because the factory capacity utilization rates in several countries are approaching their former peaks.

The capacity utilization rate of American industry has crept toward 85 percent, an eight-year high that some economists contend is beginning to strain the nation's ability to turn out more goods.