capacity

capacity
The maximum output an industrial plant is considered capable of producing. This assumes normal working: if single-shift working is normal, output can sometimes be further increased by shift work, using two or even three shifts. The capacity of a firm, an industry, or the economy as a whole can only be estimated subject to considerable problems of aggregation. Firms or industries have equipment of varying types: some of this can only produce goods for which there is no demand; other equipment can produce goods that are wanted, but only at such high operating costs that its use is normally uneconomic. Because of the need for flexibility in both the timing and the composition of output, firms normally aim on average to operate at well under 100 per cent of capacity. In emergencies, however, the use of overtime, extra shifts, and deferring maintenance work can allow output to exceed capacity for limited...

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