Data in this report are from the Census Bureau's Annual Capital Expenditures Survey (ACES), which collects information on expenditures for new and used structures and equipment by all U.S. nonfarm businesses. The Capital Spending Report series covers spending by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industry sector in a ten-year moving window ending with the most recent ACES reference year—2010 in the current report. However, linked background tables provide comparable NAICS industry data beginning in 1999. Estimates for penultimate years in each report are subject to revision.

The report looks closely at investment shares over time to see which are growing (shrinking) and, in theory, where firms and capital markets perceive the greatest economic opportunity. Annual spending estimates are not adjusted for inflation. This may affect the utility of year-to-year or longer-term comparisons of spending levels, especially when inflation rates are volatile and vary across industry groups and asset categories. However, with some exceptions (e.g., declines in information technology equipment prices, which may have a negative effect on investment totals in industries that invest heavily in IT equipment), comparisons of shares of overall investment across industry groups are less affected by inflation.

The ACES survey collects industry detail only for companies with employees; hence, estimates in the report series of capital spending by industry are for employer businesses. On average, over the period 2001-2010, these firms accounted for about 93.0 percent of total annual structures and equipment spending by U.S. nonfarm businesses.

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• Charts

Between 2001 and 2010, the period covered by this report, capital spending by U.S. nonfarm businesses varied cyclically. Spending fell in 2002 to a period low of $997.9 billion and peaked in 2007 at $1,354.7 billion. Spending in 2008 was $1,374.2 billion, not statistically different from 2007. (Chart 1, Table 1a, in report).

*These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error.

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• Sectors registering the largest absolute increases in investment spending between 2001 and 2010 included mining (up $63.7 billion or 124.3 percent), health care and social assistance (up $25.6 billion or 48.4 percent), and utilities (up $11.8 billion or 14.2 percent). ² (Chart 4, Table 2a)
• Sectors registering the largest absolute decreases in investment spending over the 2001-2010 period included information (down $47.4 billion or 32.7 percent) and manufacturing (down $33.2 billion or 17.2 percent). (Chart 4, Table 2a)
• In 2010, four of the 19 industry sectors accounted for 45.8 percent of capital spending by U.S. employer businesses—manufacturing (15.4 percent), mining (11.1 percent), finance and insurance (9.9 percent), and information (9.4 percent). In 2001, these same four industry sectors accounted for 49.4 percent of capital spending. (Table 3a)

*These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error.

• Sectors experiencing the largest increases in their shares of total capital spending between 2001 and 2010 included mining (up 6.2 percentage points) and health care and social assistance (up 2.6 percentage points). (Chart 5, Table 3a)
• Sectors experiencing the largest declines in their shares of total capital spending between 2001 and 2010 included manufacturing (down 2.9 percentage points), information (down 4.4 percentage points), and finance and insurance (down 2.6 percentage points). (Chart 5, Table 3a)

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