News Release
New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States, 2019
Expenditures by foreign direct investors to acquire, establish, or expand U.S. businesses totaled $194.7 billion (preliminary) in 2019. Expenditures were down 37.7 percent from $312.5 billion (revised) in 2018 and below the annual average of $333.0 billion for 2014–2018. As in previous years, acquisitions of existing businesses accounted for a large majority of total expenditures.
In 2019, expenditures for acquisitions were $190.7 billion, expenditures to establish new U.S. businesses were $2.5 billion, and expenditures to expand existing foreign-owned businesses were $1.5 billion. Planned total expenditures, which include both first year and planned future expenditures, were $203.6 billion.
Expenditures by industry, country, and state in 2019
By industry, expenditures for new direct investment were largest in manufacturing, at $78.2 billion, accounting for 40.2 percent of total expenditures. Within manufacturing, expenditures were largest in chemical manufacturing ($41.8 billion), primarily pharmaceuticals and medicines. There were also notable expenditures in transportation and warehousing ($21.3 billion) and publishing industries ($14.5 billion).
By country of ultimate beneficial owner (UBO), the largest investing country was the United Kingdom, with expenditures of $40.4 billion. Canada ($35.7 billion) was the second largest investing country, followed by Germany ($21.6 billion) and Japan ($17.8 billion). By region, Europe contributed over half of new investment in 2019.
By U.S. state, California received the largest investment, with expenditures of $22.7 billion, followed by Pennsylvania ($21.1 billion) and Texas ($20.9 billion).
Greenfield expenditures
Greenfield investment expenditures—expenditures to either establish a new U.S. business or to expand an existing foreign-owned U.S. business—were $4.0 billion in 2019. Total planned expenditures until completion for greenfield investment initiated in 2019, which include both first year and future expenditures, were $12.9 billion.
By U.S. industry, greenfield expenditures in 2019 were largest in chemical manufacturing ($0.6 billion) and utilities ($0.5 billion). By country of UBO, Japan ($1.1 billion) and Canada ($1.0 billion) had the largest expenditures. By U.S. state, Delaware received the highest level of greenfield investment ($0.7 billion), followed by Texas ($0.6 billion).
Employment by newly acquired, established, or expanded foreign-owned businesses
In 2019, employment at newly acquired, established, or expanded foreign-owned businesses in the United States was 210,600 employees. Current employment of acquired enterprises was 208,100. Total planned employment, which includes the current employment of acquired enterprises, the planned employment of newly established business enterprises when fully operational, and the planned employment associated with expansions, was 223,400.
By industry, construction accounted for the largest number of employees (18,800), followed by food manufacturing (17,600). By country of UBO, the United Kingdom Islands in the Caribbean, which include the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, accounted for the largest number of employees (35,400), followed by the United Kingdom (29,100) and Canada (28,700).
By U.S. state, Minnesota had the largest employment (39,800), followed by Texas (29,000) and California (21,800). Employment for an acquired entity that operated in multiple states is attributed to the state in which it had the greatest number of employees.
| Previously Published Estimate | Revised Estimate | |
|---|---|---|
| First-year expenditures | 296.4 | 312.5 |
| U.S. businesses acquired | 287.3 | 303.3 |
| U.S. businesses established | 5.3 | 4.9 |
| U.S. businesses expanded | 3.8 | 4.2 |
| Planned total expenditures | 318.1 | 340.0 |
| U.S. businesses acquired | 287.3 | 303.3 |
| U.S. businesses established | 20.3 | 22.7 |
| U.S. businesses expanded | 10.5 | 13.9 |
Next release: July 2021
New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States, 2020