BUSINESS INVESTMENT

[Billions of dollars]

Capital expenditures

By industry

Forestry,
Total fishing and
capital Total by agricultural
Period expenditures industry services Mining

For companies with employees

1996 807.1 ... ... ...
1997 871.8 ... ... ...
1998 970.9 896.5 0.9 40.4
1999 1,047.0 974.6 1.7 30.6
2000 1,161.0 1,089.9 1.5 42.5
2001 1,109.0 1,052.3 1.5 51.3
2002 997.9 917.5 1.9 42.5
2003 975.0 886.8 1.9 50.5
2004 1,047.5 958.6 2.1 53.7

Capital expenditures

By industry

Wholesale
Period Utilities Construction Manufacturing trade

For companies with employees

1996 ... ... ... ...
1997 ... ... ... ...
1998 36.0 26.9 203.6 29.2
1999 42.8 23.1 196.4 32.4
2000 61.3 25.0 214.8 33.6
2001 82.8 24.8 192.8 30.0
2002 65.5 24.8 157.2 26.8
2003 54.6 23.2 149.1 26.0
2004 50.1 28.7 156.9 31.9

Capital expenditures

By industry

Transportation Finance
Retail and and
Period trade warehousing Information insurance

For companies with employees

1996 ... ... ... ...
1997 ... ... ... ...
1998 57.3 51.3 96.5 118.2
1999 64.1 57.3 122.8 130.1
2000 69.8 59.9 160.2 133.7
2001 66.9 57.8 144.8 131.1
2002 59.3 47.1 88.2 128.4
2003 66.9 44.5 80.5 120.8
2004 71.7 47.7 83.5 153.2

Capital expenditures

By industry

Real Professional, Health
estate and scientific, care and
rental and and technical social
Period leasing services assistance Other (1)

For companies with employees

1996 ... ... ... ...
1997 ... ... ... ...
1998 85.2 22.3 47.1 81.7
1999 100.6 29.5 51.3 91.8
2000 92.5 34.1 52.2 108.9
2001 82.7 30.5 52.9 102.5
2002 94.5 25.9 59.3 96.1
2003 88.0 24.7 61.2 96.2
2004 92.2 26.9 65.3 94.7

Capital expenditures

For
companies
without
Period employees

1996 ...
1997 ...
1998 74.4
1999 72.3
2000 71.2
2001 56.7
2002 80.4
2003 88.2
2004 88.9

(1) Includes the following industries: Management of companies and
enterprises; administrative and support and waste management;
educational services; arts, entertainment, and recreation;
accommodation and food services; and other services (expert public
administration). Also includes an item for structure and equipment
expenditures serving multiple industry categories.

NOTE.--Data from Annual Capital Expenditures. Industry data are based
on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Data shown in this table are capital expenditures for both new and
used structures and equipment.

AS FLU SEASON approaches its peak, employers beware: sick days may affect the bottom line more than usual. A survey by CCH found that in 2006 unscheduled absenteeism among employees reached its highest rate since 1999. Large companies are paying up to $850,000 a year in payroll for sick time, not to mention the cost of temporary replacements and lost productivity. That's doubly painful when you consider that only about one out of three of those "sick" clays are for actual illness, while 65 percent are the result of family issues, personal needs, stress, and the so-called mental-health day, according to Pamela Wolf, a workplace analyst at CCH.

But companies that crack down by enforcing stringent sick-time policies (or offer none at all) risk "presenteeism": sick employees show up but do little work and infect their co-workers.

Barry Blass, CFO of Hachenberger Management, a holding company that owns and manages more than 40 businesses ranging from realty to horticulture, recommends a middle ground: his company instituted a paid-time-off bank five years ago that gives employees at least 10 days a year for illness or personal needs. He says the policy did not cause absenteeism to increase. "Our workers understand that if they abuse the system, they'll pay out of pocket for each day they take over the limit," he says.

Increasingly, businesses appear to see the wisdom in more-flexible approaches to time off. The average number of work-life programs a company offers, such as leave for school functions and telecommuting, has increased from 9 to 11, and more companies are providing elder and on-site child-care services. It's not all a matter of accommodation, however: the survey also found that an overwhelming 97 percent of companies use disciplinary action to enforce time-off policies and rank such action as the most frequently used means of preventing abuse.

EXCUSES,
EXCUSES

Reasons for unscheduled
absences in 2006

Entitlement Mentality 11%
Personal Illness 33%
Family Issues 24%
Stress 12%
Personal Needs 18%