NA Not available. X Not applicable.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau,Annual Capital Expenditures, series ACE.

http://www.census.gov/csd/ace/

ANNUAL CAPITAL EXPENDITURES SURVEY

PURPOSE

To provide broad-based statistics on business spending for new and used structures and equipment. The United States Code,Title 13, authorizes this survey and provides for mandatory responses. This is also called the ACES program.

COVERAGE

All domestic, private, nonfarm, including agricultural nonfarm (SIC Major Groups 07, 08 and 09) businesses. Majorexclusions are foreign operations of U.S. businesses, businesses in U.S. territories, government operations (including theU.S. Postal Service), agricultural production companies, and private households. All businesses falling in the remainingsectors (including the self-employed) are covered. In 1996, there were approximately 5.0 million businesses with at least 1paid employee and approximately 14.0 million nonemployer businesses.

CONTENT

Basic data for each year include expenditures on new and used structures and equipment (excluding land and depletableassets) for 94 separate industry categories. Supplementary data for selected years include added expenditure detail by typeof structure and by type of equipment.

FREQUENCY

Annually beginning with data for 1993. Basic annual data are supplemented on a 5-year cycle; 5th year supplements provideadded detail by type of structure and by type of equipment. Data collection begins about 3 months after the end of each yearand continues for 9 months; data are for activities in the prior calendar year.

METHODS

A mail-out/mail-back sample survey of approximately 34,000 companies with 1 or more employees, plus 12,000nonemployer companies. Larger companies are selected each year from the updated Standard Statistical Establishment List(SSEL); all companies with at least 500 paid employees are included in the survey; and smaller employer companies arestratified by industry and payroll size and selected randomly by strata. Nonemployer companies are selected randomlywithout regard to industry classification.

The SSEL is updated continuously based on new information from Census Bureau programs and administrative records ofother agencies. SSEL establishment-level data are consolidated to create company information for sampling purposes.Separate industry categories are 2- or 3-digit SIC industries developed on the basis of the aggregate value of capitalexpenditures and the reportability of detailed expenditures information. Published data are weighted totals for all coveredbusinesses, adjusted for companies that do not respond, and accompanied by standard error information.

*The estimates in this report are based on two stratifiedsimple random samples.The ACE-1 sample consists of33,818 companies with at least one paid employee onMarch 12.The ACE-2 sample consists of 12,182 nonem-ployer businesses.The two sample populations receiveddifferent survey forms (see Appendix D for an example ofeach survey form).

The scope of the survey was defined to include all pri-vate,nonfarm,domestic companies.Major exclusionsfrom the frame were government-owned operations(including the U.S.Postal Service),foreign-owned opera-tions of domestic companies,establishments located inU.S.Territories,establishments engaged in agriculturalproduction (not agricultural services),and private house-holds.

*CAPITAL EXPENDITURESCapital expenditures include all capitalized costs duringthe year for both new and used structures and equipmentchargeable to fixed asset accounts for which depreciationor amortization accounts are ordinarily maintained.Forprojects lasting longer than 1 year,this definition includesgross additions to construction-in-progress accounts evenif the asset was not in use and not yet depreciated.Forcapital leases,the company using the asset (lessee)isasked to include the cost or present value of the leasedassets in the year in which the lease was entered.Alsoincluded in capital expenditures are capitalized leaseholdimprovements and capitalized interest charges on loansused to finance capital projects.

STRUCTURESCapital expenditures for structures consist of the capi-talized costs of buildings and other structures and all nec-essary expenditures to acquire,construct,and prepare thestructure for its intended use.The costs of any machineryand equipment which are an integral or built-in feature ofthe structure are classified as structures.Also included aremajor additions and alterations to existing structures andcapitalized repairs and improvements to buildings.New structures include new buildings and other struc-tures not previously owned,as well as buildings and otherstructures that have been previously owned but not usedor occupied.Used structures are buildings and other struc-tures which have been previously owned and occupied.

EQUIPMENTCapital expenditures for equipment include machinery,furniture and fixtures,computers,and vehicles used in theproduction and distribution of goods and services.Expen-ditures for machinery and equipment which are housed instructures and can be removed or replaced without signifi-cantly altering the structure are classified as machineryand equipment.

New equipment consists of machinery and equipmentpurchased new and equipment produced in the companyfor use by the company.Used equipment is secondhandmachinery and equipment.

OTHER CAPITAL EXPENDITURES"Other" capital expenditures refers to depreciable andamortizable fixed assets which companies could not clas-sify as structures or equipment because of recordkeepingpractices or difficulties interpreting the definitions ofstructures and equipment.

CAPITAL LEASESCapital leases consist of new fixed assets acquiredunder capital lease arrangements entered into during theyear.Capital leases are defined by the criteria in the Finan-cial Accounting Standards (FASB)Number 13.

CAPITALIZED INTERESTCapitalized interest consists of interest charges onloans used to finance capital projects,if consistent withthe criteria in the Statement of Financial Accounting Stan-dards (FASB)Number 34.Capitalization occurs only duringthe period of time to get structures and equipment readyfor their intended use (such as long term construction of afactory or equipment).