In 2019, U.S. nonfarm businesses with and without employees invested $1,919.2 billion in new and used structures and equipment. Companies with employees accounted for $1,807.8 billion (94.5 percent) and companies without employees accounted for $111.4 billion (5.8 percent) of capital spending in 2019. (See Summary Table A below, and Tables 1a and 1b).

Capital expenditures for companies without employees was not collected for the 2018 survey.

Click to enlarge.

Companies with employees

In 2019, U.S. nonfarm employer businesses invested $1,807.8 billion in new and used structures and equipment, an increase of $108.7 billion (6.4 percent) from the revised 2018 employer total of $1,699.1 billion. Total spending on new structures and new equipment was $1,696.9 billion, an increase of $86.3 (5.4 percent) from the revised 2018 total of $1,610.6 billion. (See Summary Table B below, and Tables 1a and 1b).

Expenditures on new and used structures totaled $710.3 billion in 2019, up $62.0 billion (9.6 percent) from 2018 (See Figure 1). Of this amount, $657.5 billion (92.6 percent) was spent for new structures, an increase of $45.0 billion (7.3 percent) from 2018. Expenditures for used structures totaled $52.8 billion.

Spending on new and used equipment totaled $1,097.5 billion in 2019, up $46.7 billion (4.4 percent) from 2018. Of this amount, $1,039.4 billion (94.7 percent) was for new equipment, an increase of $41.3 billion (4.1 percent) from 2018. Expenditures for used equipment totaled $52.8 billion (about 7.4 percent of total structure spending), an increase of $17.0 billion (47.4 percent) from 2018. (See Figure 2).

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Highlights by business sector for companies with employees (See Tables 2, 3, and 4)

(Data in this section is based on the 2012 North American Industry Classification System. Data is only for companies with employees because companies without employees are not asked to report capital expenditures by sector or industry.)

Of the 19 NAICS major industry sectors covered in this report, 9 had a statistically significant increase in capital spending in 2019 compared with 2018, and 10 showed no statistically significant change. The values of structures and equipment may not sum to the values of total capital expenditures due to rounding (See Summary Chart A below, Figure 3 and Figure 4).

Based on 130 industries shown in this report, 42 had a statistically significant increase in spending, 18 had a statistically significant decrease, 70 showed no significant change from the prior year.

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Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey
Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.
NS: Not Statistically Significant
See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Manufacturing

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Manufacturing	272.9	258.1	5.7%
Structures	65.5	58.9	11.2%
Equipment	207.4	199.2	4.1%
Durable Goods Industries	141.4	137.8	2.6%	NS
Structures	27.6	26.3	4.8%	NS
Equipment	113.8	111.4	2.1%	NS
Nondurable Goods Industries	131.5	120.3	9.3%
Structures	37.9	32.6	16.3%
Equipment	93.6	87.7	6.7%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Durable Good Industries and Nondurable Good Industries [<1.0 MB]

Finance and Insurance

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Finance and Insurance	195.3	181.5	7.6%
Structures	31.8	25.6	24.5%
Equipment	163.5	156.0	4.8%	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Finance and Insurance [<1.0 MB]

Information

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Information	176.8	175.1	1.0%	NS
Structures	51.4	43.5	18.3%
Equipment	125.3	131.6	-4.8%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Information [<1.0 MB]

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	181.2	173.9	4.2%	NS
Structures	72.6	70.5	3.0%	NS
Equipment	108.6	103.4	5.0%	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Real Estate [<1.0 MB]

Mining

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Mining	158.1	153.4	3.1%	NS
Structures	114.6	114.1	0.5%	NS
Equipment	43.4	39.3	10.5%	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Mining [<1.0 MB]

Utilities

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Utilities	172.6	151.0	14.3%
Structures	90.7	78.3	15.8%
Equipment	82.0	72.7	12.7%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Utilities [<1.0 MB]

Transportation and Warehousing

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Transportation and Warehousing	128.5	122.4	5.0%
Structures	52.7	44.6	18.0%
Equipment	75.9	77.7	-2.4%	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Transportation and warehousing [<1.0 MB]

Health Care and Social Assistance

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Health Care and Social Assistance	116.7	108.6	7.5
Structures	69.3	59.9	15.8
Equipment	47.4	48.7	-2.6	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Health Care and Social Assistance [<1.0 MB]

Retail Trade

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Retail Trade	98.6	89.2	10.5%
Structures	42.8	38.9	10.2%
Equipment	55.8	50.4	10.7%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Retail Trade [<1.0 MB]

Professional, scientific, and technical services

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2018 and 2017 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Professional, scientific, and technical services	43.5	42.0	3.6%	NS
Structures	13.1	13.6	-3.9%	NS
Equipment	30.5	28.4	7.2%	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Professional, scientific, and technical services [<1.0 MB]

Wholesale Trade

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Wholesale Trade	40.6	42.8	-5.2%	NS
Structures	10.1	12.8	-20.7%
Equipment	30.5	30.0	1.4%	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Wholesale Trade [<1.0 MB]

Construction

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Construction	50.4	39.0	29.2%
Structures	7.7	4.0	89.8%
Equipment	42.7	34.9	22.2%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Construction [<1.0 MB]

Educational services

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Educational services	31.8	35.5	-10.4%	NS
Structures	25.0	29.1	-14.0%	NS
Equipment	6.8	6.4	6.1%	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Educational services [<1.0 MB]

Accommodation and food services

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Accommodation and food services	44.7	35.4	26.3%
Structures	22.0	17.4	26.6%	NS
Equipment	22.7	18.0	26.1%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Accommodation and Food Services [<1.0 MB]

Administrative and support and waste management

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Administrative and support and waste management	31.7	29.4	7.7%	NS
Structures	7.5	7.0	7.5%	NS
Equipment	24.2	22.4	7.8%	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Administrative and support and waste management [<1.0 MB]

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	24.5	24.7	-0.8%	NS
Structures	15.2	14.8	3.2%	NS
Equipment	9.3	10.0	-6.6%	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation [<1.0 MB]

Other Services (except public administration)

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Other Services (except public administration)	25.3	22.2	14.0%	NS
Structures	15.2	12.4	22.8%	NS
Equipment	10.1	9.8	2.8%	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Other Services (except public administration) [<1.0 MB]

Management of companies and enterprises

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Management of companies and enterprises	7.3	6.9	6.2%
Structures	1.7	1.7	-1.0%	NS
Equipment	5.6	5.1	8.6%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Management of companies and enterprises [<1.0 MB]

Forestry, fishing, and agricultural services

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2019 and 2018 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital expenditures	2019	2018	% Change
Total Forestry, fishing, and agricultural services	4.1	4.7	-12.8%	NS
Structures	.8	.7	17.3%	NS
Equipment	3.2	3.9	-18.3%	NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See Technical Documentation Methodology Data Quality for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.