EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EDT, JUNE 8, 2001 (FRIDAY) Public Information Office CB01-99 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-1037 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Charles Funk/Sara Prebble/John Seabold 301-457-3324 U.S. Business Investment in Capital Goods Tops $1 Trillion in 1999, Census Bureau Reports U.S. businesses invested a record $1.038 trillion in capital goods in 1999, a 7 percent increase from $971 billion in 1998, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The report, Annual Capital Expenditures: 1999, defines capital goods as assets with an expected use of more than one year that generally are depreciated by businesses. Businesses spent $977 billion, or 94 percent of all expenditures in 1999, on new equipment and structures. More was spent on new equipment ($680 billion) than new structures ($297 billion). Businesses with employees accounted for 93 percent ($966 billion) of all 1999 capital investment. By comparison, businesses without employees invested $72 billion. Industry highlights: - Manufacturing businesses with employees led all industry sectors by spending $196 billion on capital goods, down nearly 4 percent from 1998. About $162 billion went for equipment. Durable goods manufacturers invested $116 billion; nondurable goods manufacturers invested $80 billion. - The finance and insurance sector had the second highest capital expenditures: $127 billion. The leading industry spender in this sector was real estate lending, sales financing, and credit card issuing at $80 billion. - The information sector reported $120 billion in capital expenditures, up nearly 25 percent from 1998. Wired telecommunications carriers led this sector at $56 billion, up 10 percent; wireless carriers, at $14 billion, followed, up 75 percent. - The real estate and rental and leasing sector spent $98 billion on capital goods. The leaders in this sector were real estate ($37 billion), automotive equipment rental and leasing ($37 billion), and commercial and industrial equipment rental and leasing ($21 billion). - Retail trade spent $64 billion on capital goods, with food and beverage stores, general merchandise stores and other retail stores (including gas stations) spending $49 billion. - The health care and social assistance sector invested $51 billion on capital expenditures. Hospitals accounted for more than half of this sector's total investment -- $29 billion. - The utilities sector's capital expenditures totaled $45 billion, up 22 percent from 1998. More than three-fourths of this spending was by electric power generators and distributors. The report, from the Annual Capital Expenditures Survey, shows capital investment spending for 130 separate industry categories based on the North American Industry Classification System. It covers data on buildings and other structures, machinery and equipment, furniture, computers and vehicles. While the report shows estimates of investment by all nonfarm businesses, only businesses with employees were asked to report investment by industry. Data in the report are subject to sampling variability, as well as nonsampling errors. Sources of nonsampling error include errors of response, nonreporting and coverage. Further details concerning survey design, methodology and data limitations are available in the full report.
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