FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX aircraft at Boeing facilities at the Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, September 16, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/

(Reuters) - The global grounding of Boeing's BA.N 737 MAX jet is weighing on Canadian economic investment in machinery and equipment, with carriers unable to take deliveries of the planes, the Bank of Canada said on Wednesday in a report.

Investment in machinery and equipment “could have been about 3% higher in the fourth quarter of 2019,” if the grounding had not occurred, the bank said in a footnote to its monetary policy report.

Boeing’s fastest-selling jetliner, the 737 MAX, was grounded worldwide in March after two fatal crashes that killed a total of 346 people within five months.

Regulators must approve the plane for service before deliveries can resume.

Air Canada, AC.TO with 24 MAX jets, has taken the MAX out of its schedule until February 14, 2020. Calgary-based WestJet Airlines WJA.TO, with 13 MAX jets, has taken the MAX out until Jan. 4, but is reviewing whether to extend that into February.