The 2015 estimates are from data collected from a sample of 44,898 enterprises with employees (of which 18,614 were selected with certainty along with 26,284 others). The sample frame was about 5.7 million enterprises with employees (of which 5.6 million are single establishment enterprises), and about 31.5 million enterprises without employees. For those enterprises with employees, capital expenditures data are published for 132 industries, with one of those being ‘serving multiple industries’. In addition, total capital expenditures, with no industry detail, are shown for the enterprises without employees.

Beginning with the 2004 ACES, industry categories used in the survey were comprised primarily of three-digit and selected four-digit industries from the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Industry combinations were developed through consultation with data users. In addition, a category was provided for structures and equipment expenditures serving multiple industries; for example, headquarters, regional offices, and central research laboratories.

In 2007, an updated edition of the NAICS was released, and was first incorporated in the 2009 ACES reference year.

Four survey forms were used for the 2015 ACES: the ACE-1(S) for smaller enterprises with employees, ACE-1(M) for midsized enterprises with employees, ACE-1(L) for larger enterprises with employees, and ACE-2 for enterprises without employees. The ACE-1(S), ACE- 1(M), and ACE-1(L) survey forms were mailed to the sample of enterprises with employees. Recipients of these survey forms were requested to provide capital expenditures data for each industry in which they had activity and to classify these expenditures as new and used structures and equipment.

New structures and equipment include expenditures for new buildings and other structures, structures that have been previously owned but neither used nor occupied, new machinery and equipment, and other new depreciable assets. Used structures and equipment include expenditures for buildings and other structures which have been previously owned and occupied, secondhand machinery and equipment, and other used depreciable assets. In addition, these enterprises were asked to report new structures and equipment acquired under capital lease arrangements entered into during the survey year.

The ACE-2 survey form was mailed to a sample of enterprises without employees. Capital expenditures data were requested separately for new and used structures and equipment. (Examples of ACE-1(S), ACE-1(M), ACE-1(L), and ACE-2 survey forms are available in Questionnaires and Instructions.)

In accordance with federal law governing Census Bureau reports (Title 13 of the United States Code), no data are published that would disclose the identity or operations of enterprises providing information. When the estimate for a specific data item cannot be shown without disclosing sensitive information for individual enterprises, the publication of that data item is suppressed. The process used to avoid sensitive disclosures used in ACES does not change the overall totals or otherwise affect the integrity of the published data.

The following abbreviations and symbols are used in this publication: