Annual Capital Expenditures Survey
You are here: Census.gov › Business & Industry › Annual Capital Expenditures › Historical Data › Capital Spending Report › 2012
2012 Capital Spending Report
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.
General Highlights:
- 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).
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Changes in the Composition of Investment by Type of Investment—Structures and Equipment
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Changes in Sector Level Spending—Selected Sectors, Companies with Employees
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
- 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)
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Changes in the Composition of Investment by Selected Industry Sector
- 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)
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Sector-level Highlights
(Alphabetical Order)
Accommodation and Food Services
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Administrative and Support and Waste Management
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Construction
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Educational Services
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Finance and Insurance
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Forestry, Fishing, and Agricultural Services
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Health Care and Social Assistance
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Information
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Management of Companies and Enterprises
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Manufacturing
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Mining
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Other Services (Except Public Administration)
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Retail Trade
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Transportation and Warehousing
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Utilities
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
Wholesale Trade
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
|
FusionCharts will load here!
|
| *These data are subject to sampling/non-sampling error. For more information see 2010 ACES Sampling and Estimation Methodologies. |
[PDF] or 
denotes a file in Adobe’s Portable Document Format. To view the file, you will need the Adobe® Reader® 
available free from Adobe.
[Excel] or the letters [xls] indicate a document is in the Microsoft® Excel® Spreadsheet Format (XLS). To view the file, you will need the Microsoft® Excel® Viewer available for free from Microsoft®.
This symbol indicates a link to a non-government web site. Our linking to these sites does not constitute an endorsement of any products, services or the information found on them. Once you link to another site you are subject to the policies of the new site.
denotes a file in Adobe’s Portable Document Format. To view the file, you will need the Adobe® Reader® available free from Adobe.
[Excel] or the letters [xls] indicate a document is in the Microsoft® Excel® Spreadsheet Format (XLS). To view the file, you will need the Microsoft® Excel® Viewer available for free from Microsoft®.
This symbol indicates a link to a non-government web site. Our linking to these sites does not constitute an endorsement of any products, services or the information found on them. Once you link to another site you are subject to the policies of the new site.
Email Updates
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
YouTube