Activities of U.S. Multinational Enterprises in 2015

摘要

The global operations of U.S. multinational enterprises (MNEs), based on measures published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), were relatively unchanged in 2015 according to preliminary results from the 2015 Annual Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad. However, noteworthy differences in activity can be seen when these measures are viewed by geography and by industry. By geography, domestic operations showed more strength than those abroad: domestic value added grew 1.8 percent, compared with an 8.9 percent decrease abroad; domestic employment increased 2.6 percent, compared with a 0.5 percent increase abroad; domestic capital expenditures decreased 3.0 percent, compared with a 6.5 percent decrease abroad; domestic research and development (R&D) increased 3.2 percent, compared with a 0.9 percent decrease abroad. By industry, changes were also mixed, with the strongest increases in value added generally occurring in services-producing industries, such as finance and insurance, and the strongest decreases generally occurring in petroleum-related industries, such as mining.