overcapacity

American  

[oh-ver-kuh-pas-i-tee] / ˌoʊ vər kəˈpæs ɪ ti /

noun

overcapacities plural

1. capacity beyond what is normal, allowed, or desirable.

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overcapacity British  

/ ˌəʊvəkəˈpæsɪtɪ /

noun

1. the situation in which an industry or business cannot sell as much as it produces

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• overcapacities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of overcapacity

First recorded in 1925–30; over- + capacity

Example Sentences

In the past, we ran into overcapacity issues because usage didn’t catch up with the buildout.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

Growth has slowed after years of expansion, while overcapacity and an intense price war are squeezing profits across the industry.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

It has forced the country to rely even more on exports, angering Western trading partners that are having to absorb Chinese overcapacity.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

Low-cost providers also did not catch the tailwind that the majors got from surging demand for international travel, and they found themselves in a domestic market struggling with overcapacity, Cunningham noted.

From MarketWatch • May 4, 2026

Unlike other forms of Internet overinvestment, it was permanent: Once the fiber cables were laid, no one was going to dig them up and thereby eliminate the overcapacity.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman