General highlights
In 2020, U.S. nonfarm businesses with and without employees invested $1,706.4 billion in new and used structures and equipment. Companies with employees accounted for $1,597.4 billion (93.6 percent) and companies without employees accounted for $109.0 billion (6.4 percent) of capital spending in 2020 (See Summary Table A below, and Tables 1a and 1b).
Click to enlarge.
In 2020, U.S. nonfarm employer businesses invested $1,597.4 billion in new and used structures and equipment, a decrease of $208.3 billion (11.5 percent) from the revised 2019 employer total of $1,805.7 billion. Total spending on new structures and new equipment was $1,504.7 billion, a decrease of $190.6 billion (11.2 percent) from the revised 2019 total of $1,695.3 billion (See Summary Table B below, and Tables 1a and 1b).
Expenditures on new and used structures totaled $616.0 billion in 2020, down $95.1 billion (13.4 percent) from the revised 2019 total of $711 billion (See Figure 1). Of this amount, $577.9 billion (93.8 percent) was spent for new structures, a decrease of $80.5 billion (12.2 percent) from 2019. Expenditures for used structures totaled $38.1 billion (6.2 percent), a decrease of $14.5 billion (27.6 percent) from 2019.
Spending on new and used equipment totaled $981.4 billion in 2020, down $113.2 billion (10.3 percent) from the revised 2019 employer total of $1,094.7. Of this amount, $926.8 billion (94.4 percent) was for new equipment, a decrease of $110.0 billion (10.6 percent) from 2019. Expenditures for used equipment totaled $54.6 billion (about 5.6 percent of total equipment spending). (See Figure 2).
Click to enlarge
(Data in this section is based on the 2017 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, 2 had a statistically significant increase in capital spending in 2020 compared with 2019, 10 had a statistically significant decrease, and 7 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, 15 had a statistically significant increase in spending, 55 had a statistically significant decrease, 59 showed no significant change from the prior year, and the statistical significance in the spending between 2020 and 2019 for NAICS 5173 is not able to be calculated. NAICS industry 5173 is the sum of industries 5171 and 5172 for 2019 and 2018 survey years based on the 2012 NAICS.
Click to enlarge
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Manufacturing |
258.1 |
272.7 |
-5.4% |
 |
|
Structures |
68.7 |
65.8 |
4.4% |
   NS | |
Equipment |
189.3 |
206.9 |
-8.5% |
 |
|
Durable Goods Industries |
130.1 |
142.1 |
-8.5% |
 | |
Structures |
27.7 |
27.6 |
0.2% |
   NS | |
Equipment |
102.4 |
114.5 |
-10.5% |
 | |
Nondurable Goods Industries |
128.0 |
130.6 |
-2.0% |
   NS | |
Structures |
41.1 |
38.2 |
7.5% |
   NS | |
Equipment |
86.9 |
92.5 |
-6.0% |
 |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Utilities |
182.2 |
172.9 |
5.4% |
 |
|
Structures |
96.5 |
90.8 |
6.3% |
 | |
Equipment |
85.7 |
82.1 |
4.4% |
 | |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Finance and Insurance |
173.6 |
195.2 |
-11.1% |
 |
|
Structures |
26.9 |
31.9 |
-15.8% |
 | |
Equipment |
146.7 |
163.3 |
-10.1% |
 | |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Information |
169.7 |
176.8 |
-4.0% |
 | |
Structures |
47.8 |
51.4 |
-7.1% |
 | |
Equipment |
121.9 |
125.3 |
-2.8% |
 | |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Â
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Real Estate and Rental and Leasing |
134.2 |
180.2 |
-25.5% |
 |
|
Structures |
64.0 |
71.5 |
-10.5% |
 NS |
|
Equipment |
70.3 |
108.7 |
-35.4% |
 |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Retail Trade |
105.5 |
98.8 |
6.8% |
|
|
Structures |
43.6 |
42.8 |
1.8% |
 NS |
|
Equipment |
61.9 |
56.0 |
10.6% |
 |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Health Care and Social Assistance |
104.7 |
114.4 |
-8.4% |
 | |
Structures |
59.3 |
66.9 |
-11.3% |
 | |
Equipment |
45.4 |
47.5 |
-4.4% |
NS |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Â
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Transportation and Warehousing |
98.3 |
130.8 |
-24.9% |
 |
|
Structures |
39.2 |
54.9 |
-28.6% |
 | |
Equipment |
59.0 |
75.8 |
-22.1% |
 |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Mining |
97.1 |
160.8 |
-39.6% |
 | |
Structures |
66.1 |
116.5 |
-43.2% |
 | |
Equipment |
31.0 |
44.3 |
-30.1% |
 | |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Construction |
53.2 |
50.8 |
4.8% |
NS |
|
Structures |
10.8 |
8.1 |
33.7% |
 NS |
|
Equipment |
42.4 |
42.7 |
-0.7.% |
 NS |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services |
40.4 |
43.6 |
-7.3% |
 NS |
|
Structures |
11.2 |
13.3 |
-16.1% |
 NS |
|
Equipment |
29.3 |
30.3 |
-3.5% |
 NS |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Wholesale Trade |
36.0 |
40.2 |
-10.5% |
 |
|
Structures |
9.6 |
10.1 |
-5.4% |
 NS |
|
Equipment |
26.4 |
30.1 |
-12.2% |
 |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Educational Services |
32.8 |
31.6 |
3.9% |
 NS |
|
Structures |
26.1 |
24.9 |
4.9% |
 NS |
|
Equipment |
6.7 |
6.7 |
0.1% |
 NS |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Accommodation and Food Services |
30.0 |
41.4 |
-27.6% |
 |
|
Structures |
14.0 |
21.2 |
-34.0% |
 |
|
Equipment |
16.0 |
20.2 |
-20.8% |
 |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Administrative and Support and Waste Management |
28.7 |
31.2 |
-8.0% |
NS |
|
Structures |
5.7 |
7.3 |
-22.1% |
 NS |
|
Equipment |
23.0 |
23.9 |
-3.6% |
NS |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Other Services (except public administration) |
22.5 |
25.3 |
-10.8% |
 NS |
|
Structures |
12.4 |
15.2 |
-18.3% |
 NS |
|
Equipment |
10.1 |
10.1 |
0.4% |
 NS |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation |
17.8 |
24.5 |
-27.6% |
 |
|
Structures |
11.3 |
15.2 |
-25.7% |
 |
|
Equipment |
6.5 |
9.3 |
-30.7% |
 |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Management of Companies and Enterprises |
7.1 |
7.3 |
-3.1% Â |
NS |
|
Structures |
1.7 |
1.7 |
-2.0% |
 NS |
|
Equipment |
5.4 |
5.6 |
-3.5% |
 |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment for Companies with Employees: 2020 and 2019 Revised (Billions of current dollars) |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital expenditures |
2020 |
2019 |
% Change |
||
Total Forestry, Fishing, and Agricultural Services |
3.2 |
4.1 |
-20.0% |
 NS |
|
Structures |
.6 |
.8 |
-34.4% |
 NS |
|
Equipment |
2.7 |
3.2 |
-16.2% |
 NS |
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 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. |
  Return to top
  Return to top