The Economy

By The Numbers -- The Expense of R&D

June 16, 2010

Among U.S.-owned businesses and U.S. affiliates of foreign companies, much of the R&D remained in the United States.

As competition, globalization and the need to innovate grow, so too does the focus on research and development. Among U.S.-owned businesses and U.S. affiliates of foreign companies, much of that R&D remained in the United States, according to preliminary data from the first Business R&D and Innovation Survey, which addresses calendar year 2008. For example, of the $330 billion in worldwide R&D expenses reported, $234 billion was for expenses in companies' own U.S. facilities. (R&D expenses are the amount a company pays from its own funds for R&D performed for the company's benefit.) The survey, developed by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Census Bureau, also provides these details for 2008:

71
percentage of worldwide R&D expenses from manufacturing industries. The dollar equivalent is $244 billion.

30
percentage of worldwide manufacturing R&D expenses from the pharmaceutical industry, which had the highest percentage

33
percentage of total worldwide R&D expense from companies with 25,000 or more domestic employees

See Also:
Fixing 'Unintended Consequences'

About the Author

Jill Jusko

Bio: Jill Jusko is executive editor for IndustryWeek. She has been writing about manufacturing operations leadership for more than 20 years. Her coverage spotlights companies that are in pursuit of world-class results in quality, productivity, cost and other benchmarks by implementing the latest continuous improvement and lean/Six-Sigma strategies. Jill also coordinates IndustryWeek’s Best Plants Awards Program, which annually salutes the leading manufacturing facilities in North America.

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