Annual Capital Expenditures Survey

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

General highlights

In 2011, U.S. nonfarm businesses invested $1,225.6 billion in new and used structures and equipment, an increase of 10.8 percent over the 2010 total of $1,105.7 billion.^1,2 (See Summary Table A below, and Tables1a and 1b.) Total spending on new structures and new equipment was $1,155.0 billion, and increase of 11.7 percent over the revised 2010 total of $1,033.8 billion.

Summary Table A. Capital Expenditures for New and Used Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	Difference	% Change
Total	1,225.6	1,105.7	119.9	10.8
New	1,155.0	1,033.8	121.3	11.7
Used	70.5	71.9	-1.4	-1.9 NS
Structures	454.7	429.6	25.1	5.8
New	425.1	395.4	29.7	7.5
Used	29.6	34.2	-4.6	-13.5 NS
Equipment	770.9	676.1	94.8	14.0
New	729.9	638.3	91.6	14.3
Used	41.0	37.8	3.2	8.5 NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Expenditures in 2011 for new and used structures totaled $454.7 billion, an increase of $25.1 billion (5.8 percent) from 2010. (See Figure 1.) Of this amount, $425.1 billion (93.5 percent) was spent for new structures, up $29.7 billion (7.5 percent) from 2010. Expenditures for used structures totaled $29.6 billion, which was not statistically different from 2010.

Spending on new and used equipment totaled $770.9 billion in 2011, up $94.8 billion (14.0 percent) from 2010. Of this amount, $729.9 billion (94.7 percent) was for new equipment, an increase of $91.6 billion (14.3 percent) from 2010. Expenditures for used equipment totaled $41.0 billion, an increase of $3.2 billion (8.5 percent) from 2010.

The Annual Capital Expenditures Survey collects data from companies with and without employees. Companies with employees accounted for $1,152.2 billion (94.0 percent) of total capital spending in 2011. These companies invested $423.8 billion in structures, an increase of $27.4 billion (6.9 percent) from 2010, and $728.4 billion in equipment, up $88.7 billion (13.9 percent) from 2010. (See Figure 2.)

Companies without employees accounted for $73.4 billion of capital spending in 2011, with $30.9 billion spent on structures and $42.5 billion spent on equipment.(See Summary Table B below.)

Summary Table B. Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	Difference	% Change
Total	1,225.6	1,105.7	119.9	10.8
Companies with employees	1,152.2	1,036.2	116.1	11.2
Companies without employees	73.4	69.5	3.8	5.5 NS
Structures	454.7	429.6	25.1	5.8
Companies with employees	423.8	396.4	27.4	6.9
Companies without employees	30.9	33.2	-2.3	-6.9 NS
Equipment	770.9	676.1	94.8	14.0
Companies with employees	728.4	639.8	88.7	13.9
Companies without employees	42.5	36.4	6.1	16.8
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

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

(Data in this section are based on the 2012 North American Industry Classification System. Data are 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, 7 had a statistically significant increase in capital spending in 2011 compared with 2010, 1 had a statistically significant decrease, and 11 showed no statistically significant change. The sector-level 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.)

Of the 132 industries covered in this report, 48 had a statistically significant increase in spending in 2011 compared with 2010; 17 had a statistically significant decrease; and 67 showed no statistically significant change.

Manufacturing

[PDF, 243KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Manufacturing	193.4	160.8	20.3
Structures	36.6	31.2	17.5
Equipment	156.8	129.6	20.9
Durable Goods Industries	110.8	86.6	28.0
Structures	17.7	14.1	25.2
Equipment	93.2	72.5	28.6
Nondurable Goods Industries	82.5	74.2	11.2
Structures	19.0	17.1	11.0
Equipment	63.6	57.2	11.2
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

FusionCharts will load here!

Mining

[PDF, 90KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Mining	149.5	115.7	29.2
Structures	108.3	85.2	27.1
Equipment	41.2	30.5	35.0
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Finance and Insurance

[PDF, 98KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Finance and Insurance	109.6	103.1	6.3
Structures	14.5	16.2	-10.6
Equipment	95.1	86.9	9.4
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Information

[PDF, 106KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Information	99.7	97.2	2.6 NS
Structures	20.3	21.8	-6.8
Equipment	79.4	75.4	5.3
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Utilities

[PDF, 77KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Utilities	98.0	94.5	3.8 NS
Structures	46.7	43.9	6.5 NS
Equipment	51.3	50.6	1.5 NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Real estate and rental and leasing

[PDF, 90KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	91.1	81.3	12.1 NS
Structures	33.5	32.4	3.6 NS
Equipment	57.6	48.9	17.7
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Health care and social assistance

[PDF, 105KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Health Care and Social Assistance	83.2	78.4	6.1 NS
Structures	42.9	42.9	0.2 NS
Equipment	40.2	35.5	13.2
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Transportation and warehousing

[PDF, 108KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Transportation and Warehousing	72.3	59.0	22.6
Structures	28.2	23.4	20.5
Equipment	44.1	35.6	23.9
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Retail trade

[PDF, 90KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Retail Trade	67.4	65.3	3.4 NS
Structures	27.0	29.2	-7.3
Equipment	40.4	36.1	12.0
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Wholesale Trade

[PDF, 82KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Wholesale Trade	35.5	31.1	14.1 NS
Structures	7.9	6.9	14.9 NS
Equipment	27.6	24.2	13.9 NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

[PDF, 107KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	28.2	28.2	-0.1 NS
Structures	6.6	5.7	14.8 NS
Equipment	21.6	22.5	-3.9 NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Accommodation Services

[PDF, 79KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Accommodation and Food Services	24.8	19.9	24.8
Structures	12.0	9.8	23.2 NS
Equipment	12.8	10.2	26.2
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Construction

[PDF, 80KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Construction	21.8	17.9	22.0
Structures	2.9	2.6	8.9 NS
Equipment	18.9	15.2	24.2
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Educational Services

[PDF, 48KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Educational Services	21.0	23.4	-10.1 NS
Structures	15.0	17.7	-14.9
Equipment	6.0	5.7	5.0 NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Administrative and Support and Waste Management

[PDF, 94KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Administrative and Support and Waste Management	18.4	16.9	9.2
Structures	3.5	3.6	-0.4 NS
Equipment	14.9	13.3	11.8
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Other Services(except public administration)

[PDF, 88KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Other Services (except public administration)	16.1	21.0	-23.3
Structures	8.7	13.6	-36.3
Equipment	7.4	7.3	0.6 NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

[PDF, 81KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	11.3	12.1	-7.0 NS
Structures	6.5	7.7	-15.5 NS
Equipment	4.8	4.4	7.9 NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

FusionCharts will load here!

Management of Companies and Enterprises

[PDF, 49KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Management of Companies and Enterprises	5.2	4.9	4.9 NS
Structures	1.4	1.6	-12.8 NS
Equipment	3.8	3.4	13.1
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

Forestry, Fishing, and Agricultural Services

[PDF, 48KB]

Capital Expenditures for Structures and Equipment: 2011 and 2010 Revised (Billions of current dollars)
Capital Expenditures	2011	2010	% Change
Total Forestry, Fishing, and Agricultural Services	3.1	3.3	-5.9 NS
Structures	.5	.7	-22.1 NS
Equipment	2.5	2.6	-1.6 NS
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. NS: Not Statistically Significant See the "Reliability of the Estimates" Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for information on sampling variability, confidence intervals and statistical significance.

¹ The 2009 estimate of $1090.7 billion presented in this year's report reflects a $0.6 billion upward revision in the amount reported in last year's report. The present report compares business investment in 2010 and 2009. For an assessment of investment spending patterns over a longer period, see 2011 Spending Report: U.S. Capital Spending Patterns-2000-2009 at: http://www.census.gov/econ/aces/report/2011/capitalspendingreport2011.pdf
² Estimated measures of sampling variability have been calculated for each estimate and are used to construct 90-percent confidence intervals (or ranges) for all estimates of change. If the estimated range of change contains zero (0), then it is uncertain whether there was an increase or a decrease; that is, the change is not statistically different from zero (0), and the current estimate is not statistically different from the prior estimate at the 90-percent confidence level. See the "Reliability of the Estimates"; Section of Sampling and Estimation Methodologies for more information on confidence intervals and statistical significance.