ABSTRACT
Nonresidential fixed investment is often considered the sector most critical to sustaining an economic expansion, as well as contributing to the longer-term growth of the economy. There are three major components of nonresidential fixed investment: structures, equipment, and intellectual property products. Nonresidential structures are very comparable to multi-family residential structures. One important component of nonresidential structures is not covered by the monthly put in place data. Model data—information that may be relevant to determining medium-term trends, at least as indicated by formal statistical procedures—on nonresidential fixed investment is also problematic. Business spending on equipment consists of outlays for many different types of items. A key source release for equipment spending is the Census Bureau's report on shipments of nondefense capital goods, which is a part of the monthly report on the activity of durable goods manufacturers. The Census Bureau issues monthly reports on manufacturing activity.
