Foreign direct investment in the United States: new investments in 1995, affiliate operations in 1994.

Fahim-Nader, Mahnaz ; Zeile, William J.

In 1995, outlays by foreign direct investors to acquire or establish businesses in the United States increased for the third consecutive year (chart 1). Outlays increased 19 percent in 1995, to $54.4 billion, following increases of 74 percent in 1994 and 71 percent in 1993 (table 1).[1] Despite the recent increases, outlays in 1995 remained well below the peak levels of 1988-90, when new investments from Japan were much higher (chart 2).

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The increase in outlays in 1995 reflected continued, albeit diminished, economic growth in the United States and abroad, as well as several factors specific to particular industries, and it coincided with a sharp increase in overall merger and acquisition activity in the United States.

Additional highlights on new investment in 1995 are as follows.

* Most - 58 percent - of the outlays in 1995 were financed with funds from foreign parents rather than from U.S. sources or from other foreign sources.

* As in the past, most new investment was accounted for by outlays to acquire existing companies rather than by outlays to establish new companies.

* By industry, more than one-half of the new investment outlays were in manufacturing. Within manufacturing, the outlays were largest in chemicals.

* By investing country, the new investment outlays were largest for Germany, followed by the United Kingdom.

Most measures of the overall operations of nonbank U.S. affiliates of foreign companies - including existing as well as new affiliates - increased in 1994, the latest year for which such measures are available.[2] The gross product of affiliates increased 12 percent to $320.1 billion in 1994.[3] The increase reflected both the growth in new investments and the unusually strong growth in the operations of existing affiliates. The share of total gross product originating in private U.S. businesses that was accounted for by affiliates increased to 6.2 percent in 1994 from 6.0 percent in 1993 (chart 3). Although the affiliate share remained small, it has increased substantially since 1986, when it was 4.3 percent. Unlike the growth in 1994, the growth in 1986-93 was mainly due to new investments rather than to expansions of existing operations.

Additional highlights of the operations of U.S. affiliates in 1994 are as follows:

* The et income of affiliates surged to $13.4 billion in 1994, following 4 consecutive years of losses. Profit-type return - operating profits on an economic-accounting basis - more than tripled to $30.5 billion.

* Employment by affiliates increased 2 percent, following a 1-percent rise in 1993. The increases in employment resulting from new investments were less than in 1993, but they far exceeded the decreases in employment resulting from sales and liquidations of foreign ownership interests.

* Merchandise exports and imports of affiliates increased at a slower pace than total U.S. merchandise exports and imports. As a result, the affiliate shares of total U.S. merchandise trade - 22 percent of exports and 33 percent of imports - were slightly lower than in 1993.

* By country of ultimate beneficial owner (UBO), British-owned affiliates continued to account for the largest share of total affiliate gross product; in 1994, their share increased to more than 21 percent.[4] The share of Australian-owned affiliates dropped substantially, as a result of selloffs.

* Affiliates owned by foreign governments accounted for 4 percent of total affiliate gross product. Most countries had little or no Government-owned investment, but the Government-owned investment, but the Government-owned share was substantial for a few investing countries, including France, Italy, and several predominantly oil-producing countries.

* By industry, affiliate shares of all-U.S.-business employment continued to be largest in mining and in manufacturing. Within manufacturing, the affiliate share was largest in chemicals.

* By State, the affiliate share of total business employment was largest in Hawaii; in 1994, the share dipped slightly to less than 12 percent. The affiliate share of manufacturing employment was largest in Delaware, increasing slightly to more than 27 percent.

New Investment in 1995

Outlays to acquire and establish U.S. businesses, including both those made directly by foreign investors and those made through their existing U.S. affiliates, increased 19 percent to $54.4 billion in 1995, following a 74-percent increase in 1994 (table 2).[5] The growth in outlays for new foreign direct investment in the United States in 1995 coincided with, but was somewhat smaller than, a sharp increase in overall merger activity in the United States.[6] As in the past, most - 85 percent - of the outlays in 1995 were to acquire existing U.S. companies rather than to establish new U.S. companies.

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The increase in outlays in 1995 occurred in a economic environment that was conducive to an increase in new investments. Real economic growth in the United States and in the major investor countries, though generally less rapid than in 1994, remained positive. In addition, the depreciation of the U.S. dollar against several major foreign currencies lowered the costs of new U.S. investments in terms of foreign currencies, and a decline in interest rates in the United States and abroad lowered the cost of external funds for mergers and acquisitions.

In addition to these general economic factors, factors specific to particular industries appear to have motivated a number of large new investments. In chemicals and allied products, drug manufacturers' desire to realize economies of scale in research and marketing operations - partly in response to pressure from governments, insurance companies, and healthcare organizations to contain costs and hold down price increases - led a number of foreign companies to merge with or acquire drug companies in the United States. In "finance, except depository institutions," European banks' desire to expand geographically - to broaden their range of services and to gain more direct access to the large U.S. capital market - resulted in a number of U.S. acquisitions. In both industries, some of the acquired companies became available for acquisition when diversified U.S. companies divested themselves of business segments unrelated to their core businesses.

As in 1994, outlays in 1995 included more large investments than in the previous 3 years. In both years, there were four investments of $2 billion or more and eight investments of $1 billion or more (table 3). Investments of $1 billion or more accounted for about three-eights of total outlays in each year.

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By industry, outlays increased in all industries except wholesale trade, services, and "other industries." Increases were particularly large in manufacturing ($7.3 billion) and "finance, except depository institutions" ($3.6 billion). In manufacturing, increases in chemicals and allied products (particularly drugs) and machinery (particularly industrial machinery and equipment) more than offset decreases in food and kindred products, primary and fabricated metals, and "other manufacturing." In "finance, except depository institutions," most of the increase was accounted for by "other finance."

By country, the four nations whose investors made the largest outlays in 1995 - Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Switzerland - accounted for two-thirds of the total (table 4). Outlays by German investors surged $10.8 billion, to $14.2 billion, the largest level of outlays for that country since 1980, the first year that data on new investments were available. Outlays by Japanese investors, at $3.8 billion, increased for the second year in a row; however, despite the increase, these outlays were only about a fifth as large as those in the peak year of 1990 (chart 2). Outlays by Japanese investors continued to be dampened by slow economic recovery in Japan, weak corporate profits, and continued liquidity problems in the banking system.

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The portion of outlays financed with funds from foreign parents increased $4.5 billion, to $31.5 billion. The increase contributed to the overall increase in net capital inflows for foreign direct investment in the United States (FDIUS) recorded in the U.S. balance of payments accounts for 1995.[7] Outlays financed with funds from U.S. or other foreign sources increased $4.2 billion, to $22.8 billion.

The total assets of newly acquired or established affiliates were $98.4 billion in 1995, up from $77.8 billion in 1994 (table 5). Of the total, assets of businesses acquired in 1995 were $80.7 billion.

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U.S. businesses that were newly acquired or established employed 366,000 persons in 1995, up from 289,000 in 1994. In 1995, manufacturing and retail trade accounted for the largest shares of employment (36 percent each).

Affiliate Operations in 1994

In 1994, the gross product of nonbank U.S. affiliates increased 12 percent, the fastest rate of increase since 1989 (table 6). In contrast to the earlier years, much of the 1994 increase was due to expansions in existing operations; new investments played an important, but secondary, role.

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Affiliate sales increased 9 percent, and expenditures for new plant and equipment increased 8 percent; employee compensation increased a relatively modest 4 percent. Following 4 consecutive years of losses, the net income of affiliates surged to a positive $13 billion, the highest level in current dollars since at least 1977, when BEA began collecting annual data on affiliate operations.

Employment by affiliates increased 2 percent in 1994, following an increase of only 1 percent in 1993 (chart 4). New investments added 235,200 employees in 1994 - compared with 261,900 in 1993 - but sales and liquidations reduced employment by only 161,000 - compared with 239,900 (table 7).[8] Increases in employment from expansions of existing operations were also smaller than in 1993, as were employment decreases from affiliate cutbacks.

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In 1994, U.S. merchandise exports shipped by affiliates increased 7 percent, and U.S. merchandise imports shipped to affiliates increased 9 percent. For both exports and imports, the rate of increase was slower than that for the corresponding all-U.S. totals. As a result, affiliates' shares of total U.S. merchandise exports and total U.S. merchandise imports fell slightly in 1994, to 22 percent and 33 percent, respectively. Sixty percent of the total merchandise imports by affiliates was accounted for by wholesale trade affiliates, which typically function as distribution agents that buy and resell the goods they import with little or no further processing or assembly. Wholesale trade affiliates accounted for 50 percent of the merchandise exports of affiliates, and manufacturing affiliates accounted for 43 percent.

Gross product

In 1994, gross product originating in affiliates increased 12 percent to $320 billion, following an increase of 7 percent in 1993. Estimates of real affiliate gross product are not available, but these increases were well above the 2.2-percent and 2.6-percent increases in prices recorded for U.S. businesses in 1994 and 1993.[9]

The share of U.S. affiliates in total U.S. gross domestic product originating in private industries rose to 6.2 percent in 1994 from 6.0 percent in 1993 (table 1). Except for a slight dip in 1992, the affiliate share has increased every year since 1985.

BEA Data on Foreign Direct Investment in the United States

BEA collects three broad sets of data on foreign direct investment in the United States (FDIUS): (1) new investment data, (2) financial and operating data of U.S. affiliates, and (3) balance of payments and direct investment position data. This article presents the first two sets of data; the balance of payments and direct investment position data appear in the articles "The International Investment Position of the United States in 1995," "U.S. International Transactions, First Quarter 1996," and "Direct Investment Positions on a Historical-Cost Basis: Country and Industry Detail for 1995 and Changes in Geographic Composition Since 1982" in this issue of the Survey of Current Business.

Each of the three data sets focuses on a distinct aspect of FDIUS. The new investment data track U.S. businesses that are newly acquired or established by foreign direct investors, regardless of whether the invested funds were raised in the United States or abroad; the financial and operating data provided a picture of the overall activities of the U.S. affiliates; and the balance of payments and direct investment position data track cross-border transactions and positions of both new and existing U.S. affiliates with their foreign parents.

New investment data. - The data on outlays by foreign direct investors to acquire or establish affiliates in the United States are collected in BEA's survey of new FDIUS. The data on investment outlays and on the number and types of investment and investors are on a calendar year basis.

In addition, the new investment survey collects selected data on the operations of the newly acquired or established affiliates. For newly acquired affiliates, these data are for (or as of the end of) the most recent fiscal year preceding the acquisition, and for newly established businesses, they are projected for (or as of the end of) the first year of operation. The data cover the entire operations of the business, irrespective of the percentage of foreign ownership.

Financial and operating data of U.S. affiliates. - The data on the overall operations of U.S. affiliates are collected in BEA'S annual and benchmark surveys of FDIUS. The data cover U.S. affiliates' balance sheets and income statements, employment and employee compensation, merchandise trade, research and development expenditures, sources of finance, and selected data by State. In addition, the gross product of affiliates is estimated from data reported in the surveys.

Except in benchmark survey years, these data, unlike the new investment data, cover only nonbank affiliates. All data on the overall operations of nonbank U.S. affiliates are on a fiscal year basis. The data cover the entire operations of the U.S. affiliate, irrespective of the percentage of foreign ownership.

Balance of payments and the direct investment position data. - These data cover the U.S. affiliate's cross-border transactions and positions with its foreign parent or other members of its foreign parent group and hence focus on the foreign parent's share, or interest, in the affiliate rather than on the affiliate's overall size or level of operations. The major items included in the U.S. balance of payments are direct investment capital flows, direct investment income, royalties and license fees, and other services transactions with the foreign parent group. These data are collected in the quarterly survey of FDIUS.

For a more detailed discussion of the differences between these three sets of data, see "A Guide to BEA Statistics on Foreign Direct Investment in the United States," Survey 70 (February 1990): 29-37. For a discussion of the data on affiliate operations in comparison with the data on new investment, see the appendix "Sources of Data" in "Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: New Investment in 1994 and Affiliate Operations in 1993," Survey 75 (May 1995): 68-70.

Industry Name Changes

The following changes have been made to the names of the industries shown in the stubs of the tables in this article, in order to conform with the nomenclature used in the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification.

"Machinery, except electrical" is now designated "industrial machinery and equipment," and electric and electronic equipment is now designated "electronic and other electric equipment." The substance of these changes had already been reflected in the data beginning with the 1987 benchmark survey of foreign direct investment in the United States.

"Banking" is now designated "depository institutions," and "finance, except banking" is now designated "finance, except depository institutions." The substance of these changes had already been reflected in the data beginning with the 1992 benchmark survey of foreign direct investment in the United States. For convenience, the new terminology is used for all years in tables that show data both before and after 1992 (see footnote 1 to table 4). However, the terms "ban" and "nonbank" will continue to be used to refer to groups of affiliates ("nonbank U.S. affiliates").

[1.] The estimates of outlays for 1995 are preliminary. The estimates for 1994 have been revised since the preliminary estimates were published last year, resulting in a downward revision of 3 percent to the estimate of total outlays. [2.] A U.S. affiliate is a U.S. business enterprise in which there is foreign direct investment - that is, in which a single foreign person owns or controls, directly or indirectly, 10 percent or more of the voting securities of an incorporated U.S. business enterprise or an equivalent interest in an incorporated U.S. business enterprise. An affiliate is called a "U.S. affiliate" to denote that it is located in the United States; in this article, "affiliate" and "U.S. affiliate" are used interchangeably. "Person" is broadly defined to included any individual, corporation, branch, partnership, associated group, association, estate, trust, or other organization and any government (including any corporation, institution, or other entity or instrumentality of a government). A "foreign" person is any person resident outside the United States - that is, outside the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and all U.S. territories and possessions. [3.] The estimates of gross product and the other data items on affiliate operations for 1994 are preliminary. The estimates for 1993 are revised; for most of the key data items, the revisions from the preliminary estimates were small, resulting in changes to the totals by 0.5 to 2.5 percent. However, the revised estimates of net income show losses only about one-half as large as the preliminary estimates. [4.] The UBO is that person, proceeding up a U.S. affiliate's ownership chain, beginning with the including the foreign parent, that is not owned more than 50 percent by another person. The foreign parent is the first foreign person in the affiliate's ownership chain. Unlike the foreign parent, the UBO of an affiliate may be located in the United States. THE UBO of each U.S. affiliate is identified to ascertain the person that ultimately owns or controls and that, therefore, ultimately derives the benefits from owning or controlling the U.S. affiliate. [5.] The new investment data are limited to all U.S. business enterprises (including banks) that have total assets of over $1 million or that own at least 200 acres of U.S. land in the year they are acquired or established. U.S. enterprises that do not meet these criteria are required to file partial reports, primarily for identification purposes, but the data from these reports are not included in the accompanying tables. For 1995, the total assets of the U.S. enterprises that filed partial reports were only $143.9 million, or about 0.1 percent of the total assets of $98.4 billion of the U.S. enterprises that filed complete reports.

A U.S. business enterprise is categorized as "established" if (a) the foreign parent or its existing U.S. affiliate creates a new legal entity that is organized and begins operating as a new U.S. business enterprise or (b) the foreign parent directly purchases U.S. real estate. A U.S. business enterprise is categorized as "acquired" if the foreign parent or its existing, separate legal entity that was already organized and operating as a U.S. business enterprise and continues to operate it as a separate legal entity, (b) purchases a business segment or operating unit of an existing U.S. business enterprise that is organized as a new separate legal entity, or (c) purchases through the existing U.S. affiliate a U.S. business enterprise or a business segment or an operating unit of a U.S. business enterprise, and merges it into its own operations rather than continuing or organizing it as a separate legal entity.

The data on acquisitions do not cover the acquisition of additional equity in an existing U.S. affiliate by the foreign parent, the acquisition of an existing U.S. affiliate from a different foreign investor, or the expansions of plants by an existing U.S. affiliate. [6.] In a news release dated December 29, 1995, the Securities Data Company reported a 32-percent increase in overall merger and acquisition activity in the United States in 1995. [7.] In addition to outlays from foreign parents to acquire or establish U.S. affiliates, net capital inflows for FDIUS include foreign parents' financing of their existing U.S. affiliates. In 1995, net capital inflows for FDIUS increased $10.5 billion, to $60.2 billion. Estimates of these inflows appear in tables 1 and 5 in the article "U.S. International Transactions, First Quarter 1996" in this issue. [8.] The increase in employment from new investments is smaller than the number of employees of newly acquired or established U.S. businesses in 1994 shown in table 1. The difference partly reflects differences in coverage and timing and the existence of some changes in nonbank affiliate employment that could not be categorized. For more information, see the note to table 7, and see the appendix "Sources of Data" in Survey 75 (May 1995): 68-70. [9.] The data used to estimate affiliate gross product are reported to BEA in current dollars. BEA's chain-type price index for the gross domestic product of nonfarm U.S. businesses, less housing, increased 2.6 percent in 1993 and 2.2 percent in 1994. The rates of price increase for affiliate gross product were probably lower, because affiliate gross product is heavily concentrated in manufacturing, where price increases have tended to be lower than in other industries.

The large increase in affiliate gross product in 1994 reflected unusually strong growth in the operations of existing affiliates. New investments played an important, but secondary, role, accounting for about two-fifths of the increase in affiliate gross product. In contrast, new investments accounted for about three-fourths of the increase in 1993.(10)

By industry. - Affiliates in manufacturing continued to account for almost one-half of the gross product of all affiliates in 1994 (table 8). In contrast, for all U.S. businesses, manufacturing accounts for only one-fifth of total gross product.(11)

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Gross product of manufacturing affiliates increased 11 percent, slightly below the average for affiliates in all industries combined. Within manufacturing, affiliate gross product increased more than 20 percent in two industries: Industrial machinery and equipment and motor vehicles and equipment. The large increase in industrial machinery and equipment was mainly due to changes in the industry classification of affiliates with operations in more than one industry.

The industries with the largest increases in the shares of affiliate gross product were communication and public utilities and wholesale trade. The increase in the share for wholesale trade, to 12.7 percent, reflected increases in the value added of existing affiliates. The increase in share for communication and public utilities, to 2.3 percent, was mainly accounted for by foreign acquisitions of minority shares in U.S. companies; as a result of these acquisitions, the share of affiliate gross product accounted for by majority-owned affiliates dropped to less than 30 percent (table 9). However, majority-owned affiliates continued to account for more than two-thirds of affiliate gross product in most industries and for nearly 80 percent of the gross product of all nonbank affiliates combined.

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The largest decreases in the shares of affiliate gross product were in real estate and services. The drop in the share for real estate was largely accounted for by increased operating losses and partial selloffs by affiliates. The decrease for services was mainly due to selloffs.

By country. - In 1994, affiliates with UBO'S in the seven largest investing countries - the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland - continued to account for more than 80 percent of the gross product of all affiliates (table 10 and chart 5). The United Kingdom remained the largest investing country.

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The share of total affiliate gross product accounted for by British-owned affiliates increased to 21.5 percent after decreasing in 1993. Much of the increase was accounted for by acquisitions of minority-ownership interests in companies in the communication, wholesale trade, and mining industries. The share of Netherlands-owned affiliates also increased as a result of minority-stake acquisitions. Despite the prominence of transactions involving minority-ownership interests in these countries' new investments, majority-owned affiliates continued to account for more than 80 percent of the gross product of British-and Netherlands-owned affiliates (table 11).

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Increases in the shares of Japanese-, German-, and French-owned affiliates were mainly due to increases in the gross product of existing affiliates. The increases in the shares of Japanese- and French-owned affiliates both followed decreases in 1993; the share of German-owned affiliates increased for the third consecutive year.

The shares of Canadian- and Swiss-owned affiliates dropped substantially in 1994. The decrease for Canadian-owned affiliates was partly due to large decreases in the gross product of affiliates in the insurance industry. The decrease for Swiss-owned affiliates was mainly accounted for by selloffs.

Among other investing countries, the shares of Australian- and Swedish-owned affiliates fell. The drop for Australian-owned affiliates was more than accounted for by selloffs of minority-ownership interests in several large companies in the primary metal manufacturing and transportation industries. As a result of these selloffs, the majority-owned-affiliate share of the gross product of Australian-owned affiliates increased from only 30 percent in 1993 to more than 80 percent in 1994. Selloffs of minority-owned affiliates also more than accounted for the drop in the share of Swedish-owned affiliates.

Government-owned affiliates. - Although affiliates owned by foreign governments have accounted for a small share of the gross product of all nonbank affiliates (less than 5 percent recently), they have figured prominently in the affiliate operations of some investing countries - notably France, Italy, and several oil-producing countries (table 12).(12)

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In 1989, affiliates of Government-owned enterprises accounted for 40 Percent of the gross product of all French-owned affiliates; however, the Government-owned share declined rapidly, to 16.2 percent in 1994. The decreases in the shares in 1990 - 91 largely reflected new investments by privately owned French companies, and the decreases in 1992 - 94 reflected the privatization of parent companies in France.

Privatization was also the main factor behind a recent drop in the share of Government-owned affiliates in the gross product of affiliates with UBO'S in Italy, from 24.9 percent in 1992 to 9.0 percent in 1994.

Government-owned affiliates have continued to account for a dominant share of the gross product of affiliates with UBO'S in Venezuela, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Investments by government entities in Venezuela and Saudi Arabia have mainly been in the petroleum industry; investments by government entities in Kuwait have mainly been in real estate.

Share of U.S. employment

In 1994, the share of total U.S. private-industry employment accounted for by affiliates was 5.0 percent, the same as in 1993. The share decreased in 1992 and 1993 after increasing steadily from 1.8 percent in 1977 to 5.3 percent in 1991. The recent decreases partly reflected the concentration of affiliate activity in manufacturing, in which recent employment growth at the all-U.S. level has been much slower than in services and most other industries.

By industry. - In 1994, as in most previous years, the shares of total U.S. private-industry employment accounted for by affiliates were largest in mining and manufacturing (table 13).(13) Excluding petroleum and coal products, the affiliate shares within manufacturing were largest in chemicals and in stone, clay, and glass products.(14)

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Among the major industries, the affiliate share in communication and public utilities increased the most, from 1.7 percent to 3.6 percent, reflecting new acquisitions. The affiliate share in mining decreased the most, from 14.6 percent to 13.6 percent, mainly because of selloffs of affiliates classified in the coal mining and primary metal industries.

The affiliate share in manufacturing increased slightly to 11.8 percent. Within manufacturing, the largest increase was in apparel and other textile products, largely due to acquisitions (chart 6). The affiliate share in chemicals also increased substantially, to slightly more than one-third, mainly as a result of acquisitions in drugs. In both the apparel and chemicals industries, the affiliate share has increased every year since 1987, when BEA began collecting annual data on affiliate employment by industry of sales.

The largest decrease in the affiliate share within manufacturing was in stone, clay, and glass products. The decrease, from 20.7 percent to 19.6 percent, was more than accounted for by affiliate selloffs in glass products.

By State. - In 1994, as in 1993, the share of private-industry employment accounted for by affiliates was highest in Hawaii, followed by Delaware, South Carolina, and North Carolina (table 14).

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The affiliate share dipped to 11.5 percent in Hawaii and to 10.7 percent in Delaware, continuing a downward trend in both States. In South Carolina, the affiliate share increased to 8.3 percent after dropping in 1993. In North Carolina, the affiliate share held steady at 7.6 percent.

In manufacturing, the affiliate shares were highest in Delaware, West Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina (table 15). In all four States, the affiliate share was higher in 1994 than in 1993.

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Profitability

The net income of affiliates - after-tax profits on a financial-accounting basis - jumped from - $4.4 billion in 1993 to a new high of $13.4 billion in 1994; the turnaround reversed 4 consecutive years of losses.(15) The jump resulted from a sharp increase in affiliate operating profits, as "profit-type return" - before-tax profits generated from current production on an economic-accounting basis - increased from $8.8 billion in 1993 to $30.5 billion in 1994 (table 16).(16) (U.S. income taxes paid by affiliates also increased sharply, from $8.7 billion in 1993 to $17.1 billion in 1994.) In contrast, large changes in the net income of affiliates in 1992 and 1993 were mainly due to factors unconnected with profit-type return.(17)

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The increase in profitability in 1994 reflected increased growth in affiliate sales coupled with reduced growth in operating expenses, particularly labor costs: The growth rate for affiliate sales increased from 7.9 percent in 1993 to 8.9 percent in 1994, but the growth rate for employee compensation decreased from 6.0 percent to 4.1 percent.

By major industry, affiliate net income turned positive in 1994 in manufacturing, wholesale trade, and retail trade. Net income remained negative in real estate and services; however, affiliate losses in services were substantially smaller than in 1993.

Profit-type return of affiliates increased in every major industry except finance and real estate. The increases were especially large in manufacturing and wholesale trade, partly reflecting substantial increases in sales growth.(18) Within manufacturing, profit-type return turned positive in primary and fabricated metals, machinery, and "other manufacturing."

In some industries, profit-type return has been negative for several years (that is, affiliates have continued to incur losses from current operations). In 1994, as in earlier years, operating losses were particularly large for affiliates in real estate. Within services, profit-type return has been negative in the hotel and motion-picture industries, and within "other industries," profit-type return has been negative in transportation.

Return on assets. - The return on assets for nonfinancial U.S. affiliates has been consistently lower than that for all U.S. nonfinancial corporations over the last decade (chart 7 and table 17).(19) For U.S. affiliates, the rate of return during 1984 - 94 ranged from 2.8 percent in 1991 and 1992 to 6.5 percent in 1984. For all U.S. nonfinancial corporations, the rates were higher and more stable, ranging from 7.5 percent in 1986 to 9.3 percent in 1994.

To some extent, the relatively low rates of return for U.S. affiliates may reflect the newness of much foreign direct investment in the United States. The data on new investment indicate that initial rates of return were particularly low for the companies acquired or established during 1984 - 94. An estimate of property income on an economic-accounting basis cannot be derived from the data on new investment, but an examination of the net income data for newly established or acquired affiliates suggests that the initial profitability of these affiliates has been very low or, in many cases, negative. For the newly established companies, profitability was often low because of startup costs. For many of the newly acquired companies, profitability was low or negative at the time of the acquisition and, in many cases, may have remained low for some time, as returns were reduced by restructuring costs, writeoffs, and other expenses.

It is important to note that the relatively low rates of return for U.S. affiliates may reflect the particular objectives of foreign direct investors. For example, some foreign investors may settle for a below-average rate of return in order to gain access to the large U.S. market or to scarce raw materials, to take advantage of economies of scale and technological efficiencies in other parts of their worldwide operations, or to respond to differences across countries in the cost and availability of capital, the tax treatment of income, or tariff and nontariff barriers.(20)

Tables 18 through 23.2 follow.

Using Employment Data to Estimate Affiliate Shares of the U.S. Economy

In this article, data on employment are used to estimate affiliate shares of the U.S. economy because these data can be disaggregated on the basis of industry of sales, a basis that approximates the disaggregation of the data for all U.S. businesses on the basis of industry of establishment. Thus, the data on affiliate employment can be used to calculate the affiliate shares of the U.S. economy at a greater level of detail than can be calculated using the gross-product or other data, which can only be disaggregated on the basis of industry of affiliate.(1)

In the classification by industry of sales, the affiliate's employment (and sales) dat are distributed among all of the industries in which it reports sales. As a result, employment classified by industry of sales should approximate that classified by industry of establishment (or plant), because an affiliate that has an establishment is an industry usually also has sales in that industry.(2)

In the classification by industry of affiliate, all of the operations data (including the employment data) for an affiliate are assigned to that affiliate's "primary" industry - the industry in which it has the most sales.(3) As a result, any affiliate operations that take place in secondary industries will be classified as operations in the primary industry.

The pattern of change in employment by industry of sales may differ from the pattern by industry of affiliate, because changes in employment in the affiliate's secondary industries may not parallel those in their primary industries. In addition, changes in the classification off affiliates may have different effects on the distribution of employment among industries.

(1.) Establishment-level data from a joint project of BEA and the Bureau of the Census can be used to calculate affiliate shares of U.S. economic activity at an even greater level of detail. These data show each four-digit manufacturing industry in the Standard Industrial Classification; they are currently available for 1987-91. The data for 1990 are analyzed in "Characteristics of Foreign-Owned U.S. Manufacturing Establishments," Survey 74 (January 1994): 34-59. The data for 1991 are analyzed in "Differences in Foreign-Owned U.S. Manufacturing Establishments by Country of Owner," Survey 76 (March 1996): 43-60. (2.) However, if one establishment of an affiliate provides all of its output to another establishment of the affiliate, the affiliate will not have sales in the industry of the first establishment. For example, if an affiliate operates both a metal mine and a metal-manufacturing plant and if the entire output of the mine is used by the manufacturing plant, all of the affiliate's sales will be in metal manufacturing, and none in metal mining. When the mining employees are distributed by industry of sales, they are classified in manufacturing even though the industry of the establishment is mining. (3.) An affiliate's primary industry is based on a breakdown of the affiliate's ales by three-digit international Surveys Industry Classification code. These codes are adapted from the Standard Industrial Classification Manual 1987.

Data Availability

New investment data

A set of supplementary tables containing detail on the number of investments and investors for 19922-94 and on investment outlays and selected operating data for the newly acquired or established businesses for 1992-95 is available for $10.00. Send a check payable to the "Bureau of Economic Analysis" to the Public Information Office, Order Desk, BE-53, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, C 20230, or to order using Visa or MasterCard, call (20) 606-9827. When ordering, please specify the title "BE-13 Supplementary Tables for the July 1996 Survey Article" and the accession number: 50-96-20-105. In addition, comparable table sets for 1987-91 and 1980-86 are available:

1987-91: Accession No. 50-95-220-106, price $18.00. 1980-86: Accession No. 50-89-20-106, price $18.00.

For further information, call (202) 606-9828.

The supplementary tables are also available on 3 1/2-inch, high density computer diskettes:

1992-95: Accession No. 50-96-40-405, price $20.00. 1980-91: Accession No. 50-96-40-406, price $20.00.

To order or for further information, call (202) 606-9815.

Operation data

Publications and computer diskettes presenting the revised estimates of U.S. affiliate operations for 1993 and the preliminary estimates for 1994 from the annual surveys will be available later this summer. These estimates are comparable with those in this article, but they are presented in greater detail.

The detailed estimates of U.S. affiliate operations for 1977-92 are available on computer diskettes; for order information, call (202) 606-9815. The estimates for 1977-92 are also available in a series of annual publications; for order information, call (202) 606-9893.

(10.) Based on the methodology used to construct the estimates in table 7, the change in affiliate gross product from new investments was estimated as the gross product of large affiliates that were acquired or established during the year plus the change in the gross product of large affiliates that had an increase in employment and had acquired another U.S. business during the year. (11.) The most recent data on gross product by industry indicate that manufacturing accounted for 20.1 percent of the gross product originating in U.S. private industries in 1993. See "Gross Product by Industry, 1993," Survey 75 (April 1995): 47. Revised estimates of gross product by industry are scheduled for publication in the Survey later this year. (12.) Government-owned affiliates include affiliates that are owned by foreign governments, government-owned or government-sponsored enterprises, quasi-government organizations or agencies, and government-run pension funds. (13.) The employment data used to estimate shares are by industry of sales, a basis that approximates the establishment-based disaggregation of the corresponding data for all U.S. businesses. See the box "Using Employment Data to Estimate Affiliate Shares of the U.S. Economy" on the next page. (14.) The precise share for petroleum and coal products cannot be calculated from the affiliate data. See footnote 5 to table 13. (15.) Net income of affiliates is as shown in the affiliates' income statements; it includes capital gains and losses, income from investments, and other nonoperating income. (16.) Affiliates' profit-type return is before deduction of income taxes or depletion charges, and it excludes capital gains and losses, income from investments, and other nonoperating income. In table 16, it includes an inventory valuation adjustment (IVA). (Conceptually, it should also include a capital consumption adjustment (CCAdj), but estimates of CCAdj by industry are not available; estimates of profit-type return with both IVA and CCAdj are presented for all industries combined in table 17.) For a more detailed description of this measure and for a comparison between it and the corresponding measure used in the U.S. national income and product accounts, see "Gross Product of U.S. Affiliates of Foreign Companies," Survey 70 (June 1990): 53. (17.) The large losses reported for 1992 on a net-income basis partly reflected one-time adjustments to earnings made by many affiliates to conform with the new accounting standards for post-employment and post-retirement benefits and for deferred income taxes. The adjustments reduced net income substantially, but they had no effect on the profit-type-return measure. (18.) In both manufacturing and wholesale trade, the growth rates for affiliate sales increased from less than 9 percent in 1993 to about 11 percent in 1994. (19.) For both groups of firms, the rates of return are measured as profit-type return plus interest paid as a percentage of total assets. In the computation of these measures, both the return and the assets generating the return are valued in prices of the current period.

In chart 7 and table 17, rates of return of U.S. affiliates are compared with those of U.S. corporations because almost all U.S. affiliates are organized as corporations, and in terms of both their size and other aspects of their operations, the characteristics of U.S. affiliates correspond most closely to those of corporate businesses. However, because the all- U.S. data cover only corporations, the data in table 17 cannot be used to compute affiliates' share of all-U.S.-business activity.

The rate of return for U.S. domestic nonfinancial corporations is measured as the ratio of property income to the value of total assets. Property income includes returns to creditors as well as to shareholders and is computed as the sum of profits from current production - corporate profits with inventory valuation adjustment and capital consumption adjustment - and interest paid. As a "domestic" measure, this income excludes earnings on U.S. investments abroad and includes earnings generated by foreign-owned assets in the United States.

Total assets of U.S. domestic nonfinancial corporations, as published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Balance Sheets for the U.S. Economy, 1945 - 94 (Washington, DC: June 1995), consist of tangible assets, measured at current-replacement cost (or at estimated market value, in the case of land), and financial assets. To obtain a domestic measure, the financial-asset component of the total assets has been adjusted by BEA, to the extent possible, to exclude claims on foreign assets.

The rate of return for nonfinancial U.S. affiliates is measured as the ratio of profit-type return plus interest paid to the value of total assets. The profit-type return used in this ratio incorporates an inventory valuation adjustment (see footnote 16) and a capital consumption adjustment. In the measure of total assets used for U.S. affiliates, fixed capital and inventories have been adjusted to current-replacement cost; in addition, the value of land has been converted to current-period prices, using general price indexes. (20.) For a discussion of the rates of return on direct investment from a balance-of-payments perspective, see "Rates of Return on Direct Investment," Survey 72 (August 1992): 79-86.