Foreign direct investment in the United States.
Fahim-Nader, Mahnaz ; Zeile, William J.
In 1994, new foreign direct investment in the United States (FDIUS)
increased sharply for the second consecutive year from a 10-year low in
1992 (chart 1). Most measures of the overall operations of U.S.
affiliates of foreign companies in 1993, the latest year for which such
measures are available, were boosted by the rise in new investments that
year.(1)
Outlays by foreign direct investors to acquire and establish U.S.
business enterprises, either directly or through existing U.S.
affiliates, increased 80 percent in 1994, to $47.2 billion, following a
71-percent increase in 1993 (table 1). Although quite large, these
increases followed four consecutive years of decline, and they raised
outlays to only about two-thirds the peak level of $72.7 billion
recorded in 1988. Much of the reduction in outlays that has occurred
since 1988 is attributable to sharply reduced new investments from
Japan.
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
The increase in outlays in 1994 reflected stepped-up economic
activity in the United States and abroad and coincided with a sharp
increase in overall merger and acquisition activity in the United
States. As in the past, most of the new investments were for acquiring
existing companies rather than for establishing new companies.
Reflecting both the increase in new investment and the expansion of
existing operations, gross product originating in nonbank U.S.
affiliates of foreign companies increased 9.0 percent in 1993, to $290.4
billion.(2) The share of total gross product originating in U.S.
businesses that was accounted for by affiliates increased to 6.1 percent
from 5.9 percent in 1992 (chart 2). The affiliate share had dropped
slightly in 1992, following substantial increases in 1986-91 that were
largely propelled by the high level of new investment activity in the
late 1980's.
Additional highlights of the operations of U.S. affiliates in 1993
are as follows:
* Employment by affiliates edged up in 1993 after declining in 1992.
Increases in employment resulting from new investments slightly exceeded
decreases in employment from sales and liquidations of foreign ownership
interests.
* Most of the other measures of affiliate operations - such as total
assets, sales, and expenditures for new plant and equipment - also rose
in 1993.
* Merchandise imports of affiliates increased more than merchandise
exports; these increases were roughly in line with those in total U.S.
merchandise exports and imports. Thus, the affiliate shares of the U.S.
totals - 23 percent of exports and 34 percent of imports - were about
the same in 1993 as in 1992.
* For the fourth consecutive year, the net income of affiliates was
negative; however, the losses in 1993 were substantially less than in
1992, when one-time charges against income were taken to conform to new
accounting standards. Profit-type return - operating profits on an
economic accounting basis - was positive in both years and was not
affected by accounting changes; it increased fivefold in 1993.
* Affiliates with ultimate beneficial owners (UBO'S) in the
United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Germany accounted for the largest
shares of total affiliate gross product in 1993.(3) Largely as a result
of acquisitions, the share of gross product accounted for by affiliates
with Canadian UBO'S increased substantially, after falling in 1992.
* By industry, affiliate shares of all - U.S.-business employment
continued to be largest in mining and manufacturing. Reflecting new
acquisitions, affiliate shares of employment increased substantially in
the mining and transportation industries.
* By State, affiliate shares of business employment were largest in
Hawaii, Delaware, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The affiliate
share in Hawaii declined slightly to just under 12 percent; the
affiliate share in Delaware decreased sharply, to less than 11 percent,
following an even larger decrease in 1992.
New Investment in 1994
Outlays for the acquisition and establishment of U.S. businesses,
including both those made directly by foreign investors and those made
through their existing U.S. affiliates, increased 8o percent in 1994, to
$47.2 billion, following a 71-percent increase in 1993 (table 2). The
increase in outlays in 1994 coincided with a sharp increase in overall
merger activity in the United States.(4) More than go percent of outlays
in 1994 were for the acquisition of existing U.S. companies rather than
for the establishment of new U.S. companies.
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
The increase in outlays in 1994 reflected a number of factors that
were conducive to increased foreign direct investment. Continued strong
expansion in the U.S. economy increased the profitability of potential
acquisition targets and made them more attractive to foreigners.
Economic expansion in Western Europe, particularly in the United
Kingdom, raised foreign companies' profitability and provided them
with additional funds for investment. In addition, the cumulative effect
of dollar depreciation against several major currencies - most notably
the British pound and the Swiss franc - probably encouraged some foreign
investors to invest, or to invest more, in the United States. The dollar
also depreciated significantly against the Japanese yen; however,
outlays by Japanese investors remained virtually constant, as new
investments were constrained by slow economic recovery, reduced
corporate profits, and continued liquidity problems in the banking
system.
The step-up in outlays in 1994 partly reflected a sharp increase in
the average size of investments. The number of investments of $1 billion
or more quadrupled to eight; four of these investments were $2 billion
or more, compared with only one in 1993 (table 3). Investments of $1
billion or more accounted for 38 percent of total outlays in 1994,
compared with 19 percent in 1993; they accounted for four-fifths of the
increase in outlays in 1994.
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
The four countries with the largest outlays in 1994 - the United
Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, and Germany - accounted for two-thirds of
the total. Investments from the United Kingdom alone accounted for $19.0
billion, or two-fifths of total outlays (table 4). Most of the increase
in outlays was accounted for by investments from the United Kingdom and
Switzerland. Outlays by Japanese investors decreased for the fourth
consecutive year and were only about one-tenth as large as in the peak
year of 1990 (chart 3).
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
By industry, outlays in 1994 were largely in the manufacturing and
services industries. Manufacturing alone accounted for $23.9 billion, or
51 percent of total outlays. Outlays increased in all industries except
petroleum, "finance, except banking," and insurance. Increases
were particularly large in manufacturing, services, and "other
industries." In manufacturing, most of the increase was accounted
for by "other manufacturing" (particularly paper, tobacco, and
printing and publishing), food and kindred products, and chemicals and
allied products (particularly drugs and toiletries). In services, most
of the increase was accounted for by business services (particularly
computer and information retrieval services). In "other
industries," most of the increase was accounted for by
communication and public utilities (particularly telephone and telegraph communications).
The portion of outlays financed with funds from foreign parents,
rather than from U.S. or other foreign sources, increased $16.8 billion,
to $28.7 billion. This increase contributed to the sharp overall
increase in net capital inflows for FDIUS recorded in the U.S. balance
of payments accounts for 1994.(5)
In contrast to the sharp increase in outlays, the total assets of
newly acquired or established affiliates were smaller in 1994 than in
1993 - $75.9 billion in 1994 compared with $104.4 billion in 1993 (table
5). The smaller assets mainly reflected large acquisitions in 1993, but
not in 1994, in industries - particularly "finance, except
banking" and insurance - in which assets tend to be large in
relation to owners' equity. U.S. affiliates that were newly
acquired or established in 1994, nearly all of which were nonbank
affiliates, employed 310,000 persons, up from 289,000 in 1993.
Manufacturing accounted for the largest share of employment (37
percent); "other industries" - particularly communication and
public utilities - also accounted for a large share (22 percent).
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
Affiliate Operations in 1993
Reflecting the increase in new investment activity, the rate of
growth in most measures of the operations of nonbank U.S. affiliates
picked up substantially in 1993. Total assets of affiliates increased 12
percent to more than $2 trillion (table 6). The gross product of
affiliates increased 9 percent - the largest rate of increase since 1989
- and sales increased 6 percent. Partly in response to improved business
conditions, expenditures on new plant and equipment increased 4 percent
after dropping 12 percent in 1992.
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
Employment by affiliates edged up in 1993, following a 3-percent
decline in 1992 (chart 4), as increases due to new investments slightly
exceeded decreases due to sales and liquidations of affiliates. New
investments added 248,000 employees(6) - compared with only 102,000
employees in 1992 - whereas sales and liquidations reduced employment by
242,000 (table 7). Other sources of change had little net effect on
employment by affiliates: Increases due to expansions in existing
operations were roughly balanced by decreases due to cutbacks.
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
In 1993, U.S. merchandise exports shipped by affiliates increased 1
percent, and U.S. merchandise imports shipped to affiliates increased 8
percent. For both exports and imports, the rate of increase was slightly
below that for the corresponding all-U.S. total. In 1993, affiliates
accounted for 23 percent of total U.S. merchandise exports and 34
percent of total U.S. merchandise imports, about the same shares as in
1992. Most of the merchandise trade by affiliates - 53 percent of the
exports and 59 percent of the imports - was by wholesale trade
affiliates, which typically function as distribution agents, buying and
reselling selling the goods they export or import with little or no
further processing or assembly.
Gross product
In 1993, gross product originating in affiliates increased 9 percent
to $290.4 billion, following an increase of only 3 percent in 1992.
Constant-dollar estimates of affiliate gross product are not available,
but a rough adjustment for the effects of inflation suggests that the
increases in real terms were about 1-2 percent lower than the
current-dollar increases in each year.(7) With or without an adjustment,
the rate of increase in 1993 was the largest since 1989.
Much of the increase in affiliate gross product represented new
foreign acquisitions of existing U.S. companies rather than increased
production within the borders of the United States.(8) Some of the
largest acquisitions (as well as some of the largest selloffs) in 1993
were of minority ownership shares. Although their share was down
slightly from 1992, majority-owned affiliates continued to account for
more than three-fourths of the gross product of all U.S. affiliates.
By industry. - Affiliates in manufacturing accounted for almost
one-half of the gross product of affiliates in 1993 (table 8), a share
much larger than manufacturing's share of total U.S.
private-industry gross product.(9) However, the concentration of U.S.
affiliate production in manufacturing is consistent with the industry
distribution of gross product by the foreign affiliates of U.S.
multinational companies: In 1992, manufacturing accounted for slightly
more than one-half of the gross product of foreign affiliates of U.S.
companies.(10) Direct investment in general may be more concentrated in
manufacturing than in services or other industries due to a greater
presence in manufacturing of scale economies and of production processes
that can be standardized across national boundaries. In addition,
foreign direct investment in some service industries (such as legal
services) may be constrained because a high degree of knowledge of the
local language, culture, and business environment typically is required
to compete effectively with domestically owned businesses.
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
Manufacturing's share of U.S. affiliate gross product dipped
slightly in 1993. Within manufacturing, the food industry's share
of affiliate gross product decreased substantially, and the shares of
printing and publishing and of motor vehicles and equipment increased.
Outside manufacturing, the transportation and service
industries' shares of affiliate gross product increased. The
transportation industry's share of affiliate gross product
increased sharply to 4.3 percent after declining in 1992. The increase
was mainly due to acquisitions in the airline industry. In accordance with the legal restrictions on foreign ownership in the domestic air
transport industry, the acquisitions were of ownership shares of no more
than 25 percent.
The share of affiliate gross product in services increased to 8.1
percent, continuing an uptrend. The increase mainly reflected new
investment in the motion picture industry.
By country. - In 1993, affiliates with UBO'S in the largest four
investing countries - the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Germany -
continued to account for more than 60 percent of the gross product of
all affiliates (table 9).
The share of Canadian-owned affiliates increased substantially, to
14.2 percent, after declining in 1992. Much of the increase was
accounted for by acquisitions of minority-ownership interests in
companies in the airline, motion picture, and publishing industries. The
share of German-owned affiliates also increased, to 11.3 percent,
continuing an uptrend.
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
In contrast, the share of British-owned affiliates dropped slightly,
to 20.9 percent. By country of UBO, British-owned affiliates have
accounted for the largest share of affiliate gross product since at
least 1977, the first year for which annual data on U.S. affiliate
operations were collected.
The gross product share of Japanese-owned affiliates also dipped
slightly, to 15.8 percent. Despite the falloff since 1990 in new direct
investment from Japan, the share accounted for by Japanese-owned
affiliates was larger in 1993 than in any year before 1992, reflecting
expanded production by existing affiliates.
Share of the economy
In 1993, affiliates accounted for 6.1 percent of the total U.S. gross
product originating in private industries, up from 5.9 percent in 1992
(table 1). Except for a slight dip in 1992, the affiliate share has
increased every year since 1985. In contrast, the share of U.S.
private-industry employment accounted for by affiliates decreased from
5.3 percent in 1991 to 5.1 percent in 1992 and to 5.0 percent in 1993.
The continued dip in the affiliate share of employment partly reflects
the concentration of affiliate activity in manufacturing, where
employment growth at the all-U.S. level has been much lower than in
service and other industries.
The employment data for affiliates and U.S. private industries can be
used to examine affiliate shares of the U.S. economy by industry and
State. Unlike the data on gross product, the data on U,.S. affiliate
employment are available by industry of sales as well as by industry of
affiliate (see the box "Data by Industry of Affiliate and by
Industry of Sales"). Because the data on affiliate employment
classified by industry of sales are roughly comparable with the data on
U.S. private-industry employment classified by industry of establishment
(or plant), they can be used to calculate affiliate shares of the U.S.
economy at a greater level of industry detail than is appropriate for
the gross product data, which are available only by primary industry of
the enterprise as a whole.(11) Data on affiliate employment, unlike the
data on gross product, are also available by State; thus,
affiliates' share of private-industry employment in each State can
be computed.
By industry. - In 1993, as in most previous years, the shares of
total U.S. employment accounted for by affiliates were largest in mining
and manufacturing (table 10). Excluding petroleum refining, the
affiliate shares within manufacturing were largest in chemicals, in
stone, clay, and glass products, and in electrical machinery.(12)
The affiliate shares of U.S. employment rose the most rapidly in
mining and transportation. In mining, the affiliate share increased to
14.6 percent from 12.4 percent, mainly reflecting foreign acquisitions
of chemical companies with secondary operations in mining. In
transportation, the affiliate share increased to 6.7 percent from 5.6
percent, largely reflecting acquisitions in the airline industry.
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
In "finance, except banking," the affiliate share decreased
substantially to 5.2 percent. The decrease was more than accounted for
by the liquidation of foreign minority-ownership interests in security
brokerage firms.
The affiliate share in manufacturing dipped slightly to 11.6 percent.
Excluding petroleum refining, the largest decrease in the affiliate
share of employment within manufacturing was in food products; the
decrease reflected both selloffs and reductions in the operations of
food-processing affiliates. The largest increases were in apparel and
other textile products, printing and publishing, and motor vehicles and
equipment. The increases in the apparel and printing industries were
mainly accounted for by new foreign acquisitions, whereas the increase
in motor vehicles was mainly due to expansions by existing affiliates.
By State. - 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 11). Before 1992, Delaware had
the highest share among States.
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
In Hawaii, the affiliate share was 11.8 percent in 1993, down
slightly from that in 1992; more than two-thirds of the affiliate
employment was by Japanese-owned affiliates, mainly those in the hotel
industry. In Delaware, the affiliate share declined for the third
consecutive year, to 10.7 percent. The affiliate share also declined in
South Carolina, to 8.1 percent. In North Carolina, the affiliate share
increased to 7.5 percent; the share has increased every year since 1978,
when it was 2.5 percent.
Profitability
Affiliates reported losses on net income in both 1992 and 1993: In
1993, affiliate net income was - $9.9 billion, less than one-half the
losses in 1992.(13) In contrast, affiliates' "profit-type
return" was positive in both years: In 1993, affiliate profit-type
return was $15.7 billion, more than five times larger than in 1992
(table 12).(14)
[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]
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 new accounting standards for post-employment and
post-retirement benefits and for deferred income taxes. Although the
adjustments reduced net income substantially, they had no effect on the
profit-type-return measure, which excludes nonoperating income and is
before deduction of income taxes.
By major industry, affiliate net income in 1993 was negative in every
industry except petroleum, "finance, except banking,"
insurance, and "other industries"; in 1992, it was negative in
every industry except "finance, except banking" and insurance.
In manufacturing and wholesale trade, affiliates had negative net income
in both years despite having positive profit-type return.
In 1993, the profit-type return of affiliates in every major industry
increased. The increases were especially large in manufacturing and
"other industries." Within "other industries," the
profit-type return of affiliates in transportation turned around
sharply, partly reflecting the addition of new affiliates in the airline
industry.
In some industries, affiliates have continued to incur negative
profit-type return (that is, losses from current operations). In recent
years, operating losses have been particularly large for affiliates in
real estate. Within manufacturing, operating losses have been large in
machinery; within services, they have been large in hotels.
Appendix: Sources of Data
Foreign direct investment in U.S. business enterprises, including all
ownership of real estate other than for personal use, is reported to BEA
under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act. The
data are collected in a number of surveys.
This article presents two types of data from BEA'S surveys of
FDIUS: (1) Data on new investments from the survey of new FDIUS, and (2)
data on the overall operations of both new and existing U.S. affiliates
of foreign companies from the annual and benchmark surveys of FDIUS.
New investment survey
The new investment survey covers (a) existing U.S. business
enterprises in which foreign direct investors acquired, directly or
through their U.S. affiliates, at least a 10-percent ownership interest
and (b) new U.S. business enterprises established by foreign direct
investors during the year. The new investment survey provides data on
investment outlays, the number and type of investments and investors,
the portion of outlays financed with foreign-source funds, and selected
operating items - total assets, sales, net income, employment, and U.S.
land owned - for the new U.S. affiliate. The data on outlays and on the
number and types of investments and investors are on a calendar year
basis. (See the next section of this appendix for a discussion of the
basis used for the operating data items from the new investment survey.)
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 1994, total assets of the U.S. enterprises that filed
partial reports were only $182.0 million, or about 0.2 percent of the
total assets of $75.9 billion of the U.S. enterprises that filed
complete reports.
Each year, preliminary estimates for the previous year are revised to
incorporate data received after the publication of the preliminary
results and any corrections to reported data or to the country or
industry classification of affiliates. The preliminary estimates include
bias adjustments for late reports.
Annual and benchmark surveys
The annual survey of FDIUS collects information on the overall
operations of nonbank U.S. affiliates, such as their balance sheets and
income statements, and data on their employment and employee
compensation, property, plant, and equipment, merchandise trade, sources
of external financing, and selected data by State.(15) The survey covers
nonbank affiliates that have assets, sales, or net income greater than
$10 million. Estimates covering the universe of nonbank U.S. affiliates
of foreign companies are derived by combining data reported by a sample
of affiliates in the annual survey with BEA estimates of data for
affiliates not in the sample. Estimates for nonsample affiliates that
existed before 1993 are derived by extrapolating forward the data they
reported in BEA'S 1992 benchmark survey. Estimates for new
nonsample affiliates are derived from data they reported in BEA'S
survey of new investment.
The annual survey data are on a fiscal year basis. Thus, for example,
for 1993, an individual affiliate's fiscal year is its financial
reporting year that ended in calendar year 1993.
The benchmark survey (or census), which is now normally conducted
every 5 years, is BEA'S most comprehensive survey Of FDIUS in terms
of both subject matter and numbers of companies covered. The 1980, 1987,
and 1992 estimates of the overall operations of foreign-owned U.S.
companies are based on universe data from BEA'S benchmark survey Of
FDIUS. The benchmark survey collects both financial and operating data
(which are presented in this article) and data on the foreign direct
investment position and on balance of payments transactions between U.S.
affiliates and their foreign parent groups. For financial and operating
data, it obtains all of the items collected in the annual survey as well
as a number of items that are collected only in benchmark years. (The
annual survey is not conducted in years in which a benchmark survey is
conducted.) Very small companies - those with less than $1 million of
assets, sales, or net income - are exempt from the benchmark survey.
These companies are required to file partial reports, primarily for
identification purposes, but the data from these reports are not
included in the accompanying tables. For 1992, total assets of nonbank
companies that filed partial reports were only $1.5 billion, or about
o.1 percent of the total assets of $1.8 trillion of the nonbank
companies that filed complete reports. Like the annual survey data, the
benchmark survey data are on a fiscal year basis.
Unlike the new investment data, the operations data from the annual
and benchmark surveys cover existing, as well as newly acquired or
established, U.S. affiliates, and they reflect changes due to
liquidations and sales of affiliates. In addition, the data for newly
acquired or established affiliates differ in the two data sets.
One difference is in timing. For example, in the annual survey for
1993, the data for new affiliates are for (or as of the end of) fiscal
year 1993. In the new investment survey, the operations data for U.S.
businesses acquired in 1993 are for (or as of the end of) the most
recent fiscal year preceding the acquisition (generally 1992), and the
operations data for newly established businesses are projected for (or
as of the end of the first full year of operation. These timing
differences reflect differences in the due dates for the two surveys.
For example, the due date for the 1993 annual survey was May 31, 1994.
The due date for the new investment survey is 45 days after the
transaction takes place. Thus, for many acquisitions or establishments
that occurred in 1993, reports were required before yearend, so that it
was impossible for reporters to supply data for 1993.
In addition, data for a newly acquired or established may be
classified in different industries in the two surveys. In the annual
survey, data for a business newly acquired or established by an existing
U.S. affiliate are included in the consolidated report of the existing
affiliate if that affiliate owned more than 50 percent of the business.
Therefore, data for that business appear in the industry in which the
consolidated entity is classified. In the new investment survey, data
for a newly acquired or established business are reported separately and
are classified in the industry of the business.
Finally, data for banks are collected in the new investment survey
but are excluded from the data on the operations of U.S. affiliates in
this article.
Tables 13 through 18.2 follow.
(1.) This article combines two annual articles that used to appear
separately - one on the acquisition and establishment of U.S. businesses
by foreign direct investors in the past year and another on the overall
operations of U.S. affiliates of foreign companies in the year before
that. Estimates of new investment are derived from sea's survey of
new foreign direct investment in the United States; preliminary
estimates from the most recent survey cover 1994. Estimates of the
overall operations of U.S. affiliates ape derived from BEA'S annual
and benchmark surveys of foreign direct investment in the United States;
preliminary estimates from the most recent survey cover 1993. The
operations data, unlike the new investment data, cover only nonbank
affiliates. (See the appendix "Sources of Data.") (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
unincorporated 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 include
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, all
U.S. territories and possessions, and U.S. offshore oil and gas sites.
(3) The UDO is that person, proceeding up a U.S. affiliate's
ownership chain, beginning with and 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 udo 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. (4.) In a news release dated December 30, 1994, the
Securities Data company reported a 43-percent increase in overall merger
and acquisition activity in the United States in 1994. (5.) In addition
to outlays from foreign parents to acquire or establish new U.S.
affiliates, net capital inflows for FDIUS in die U.S. balance of
payments accounts include foreign parents' financing of their
existing U.S. affiliates. In 1994, net capital inflows for FDIUS
increased $38.7 billion, to $60.1 billion. Preliminary estimates of
these inflows were published in tables 1 and 5 Of "U.S.
International Transactions, Fourth Quarter and Year 1994," Survey
of Current Business 75 (March 1995): 80 and 87. Revised estimates will
appear in the June 1995 Survey. (6.) This increase in employment is
smaller than the number of employees of newly acquired or established U
S. businesses in 1993 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 the appendix "Sources of
Data." (7.) The data used to estimate affiliate gross product are
reported to BEA in current dollars. Price indexes specifically designed
for deflating affiliates' gross product are unavailable; however,
rough estimates of real changes in affiliate gross product can be
constructed by applying industry-level implicit price deflators for all
U.S. businesses derived from BEA'S estimates of current-and
constant-dollar gross product by industry, weighted to account for the
industry mix of affiliate production. (8.) Changes in affiliate gross
product may reflect either changes in the production of existing
affiliates or changes in foreign ownership due to new investments or
selloffs. (9.) BEA'S most recent data on gross product by industry
indicate that manufacturing accounted for about one-fifth of the gross
product originating in U.S. private industries in 1993. See "Gross
Product by Industry, 1993," Survey 75 (April 1995): 47. (10) The
figure for foreign affiliates covers only those affiliates that are
majority-owned by U.S. direct investors. See "U.S. Multinational
Companies: Operations in 1992," Survey 74 (June 1994): 62. (11.)
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 discussed in "Characteristics of Foreign-Owned U.S.
Manufacturing Establishments," Survey 74 (January 1994): 34-59.
(12.) The precise share for petroleum refining cannot be calculated from
the affiliate data. See footnote 4 to table 10. (13.) Net income of
affiliates is after-tax profits on a financial accounting basis, as
shown in affiliates' income statements; it includes capital gains
and losses, income from investments, and other nonoperating income.
(14.) Affiliates' profit-type return is an economic-accounting
measure of the profits generated from production; it is before deduction
of income taxes or depletion charges, excludes nonoperating income, and
includes an inventory valuation adjustment. For a more complete
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. (15.) Data on affiliate
gross product are not collected directly, but are estimated by BEA.
Gross product is calculated as the sum of employee compensation,
profit-type return, net interest paid, indirect business taxes, and
capital consumption allowances.
Data by Industry of Affiliate and by Industry of Sales
Most data from BEA'S annual and benchmark surveys Of FDIUS are
classified by industry of affiliate. For this classification, an
affiliate's primary industry is based on a breakdown of the
affiliate's sales by three-digit International Surveys Industry
Classification code.(1) All of the data for the affiliate are assigned to a single industry - the industry in which it has the largest sales -
even if the affiliate has activities in secondary industries.
Sales and employment are also classified by industry of sales. For
this classification, an affiliate's sales and employment are
distributed among all the industries in which it reported sales.
Employment classified by industry of sales should generally approximate
that classified by industry of establishment (plant), because an
affiliate that has an establishment in an industry usually also has
sales in that industry.(2) Data classified by industry of sales are
preferable for analyses of the various activities in which diversified enterprises are engaged. The pattern of change in employment by industry
of sales may differ from the pattern by industry of affiliate because
the changes in employment in affiliates' secondary industries may
not parallel those in their primary industries. A change in an
affiliate's industry of classification may also cause these
patterns to differ; when employment is classified by industry of
affiliate, all employees are shifted from the old industry to the new
one, but when it is classified by industry of sales, changes in
employment for an industry reflect only actual changes in employment in
that industry.
(1.) These codes are adapted from the Standard Industrial
Classification Manual, 1987, the comprehensive industry classification
system used for Federal economic statistics. (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.
Data Availability
New investment data
Only summary data arc published in this article. A set of
supplementary tables containing detail on the number of investments and
investors for 1992-93 and on investment outlays and selected operating
data for the newly acquired or established businesses for 1992-94 will
be available in June for $10.00 from the Public Information Office,
Order Desk, BE-53, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Washington, DC 20230. Visa or Mastercard orders may be placed
by telephone at (202) 606-9827. When ordering, refer to the "BE-13
Supplementary Tables for the May 1995 Survey Article." Comparable
table sets for 1987-91 and 1980-86 are also available for $18.00 each.
For order information on the tables, call (202) 606-9828. The data are
also available on computer diskettes; the price is $20.00 each for the
1992-94, 1987-91, and 1980-86 series. For order information on the
diskettes, call (202) 606-9841.
Annual and benchmark survey data
Publications and computer diskettes presenting revised estimates of
U.S. affiliate operations for 1992 from the benchmark survey and
preliminary estimates for 1993 from the annual survey will be available
later this year; their availability will be announced on the inside back
cover of the Survey. These estimates win be comparable with those in
this article, but they will be presented in greater detail.
More detailed estimates of U.S. affiliate operations in 1977-91 are
available on computer diskettes; for order information, call (202)
606-9841. The estimates for 1977-91 are also available in a series of
annual publications; for order information, call (202) 606-9893.
The International Investment Division's Direct Investment in the
U.S. Branch, under the direction of James L. Bomkamp, conducted the
surveys from which the data in this article were drawn. Joseph F.
Cherry, III, coordinated the editing and processing of the reports from
the survey of new investment. David Galleer, with the assistance of
Juris E. Abolins, coordinated the editing and processing of the reports
from the annual and benchmark surveys from which the estimates of the
overall operations of U.S. affiliates were obtained. Arnold Gilbert and
Angela Roberts, with assistance from Robert Price, designed the computer
programs to generate the tables.