Capital investment by New York State manufacturers rose sharply in 2000, growing at more than four times the pace of investment nationally, a new Census Bureau report shows.
Manufacturers made $5.4 billion in capital expenditures in the Empire State in 2000, a 12.7 percent increase from the previous year, according to the report. Nationwide, industrial capital investment rose just over 3 percent to $155 billion.
Major investments included those by companies that manufacture chemical products, including film, $1.2 billion; computer and electronic products, $867 million; transportation equipment, $433 million; fabricated metal products, $350 million; dairy and other foods, $327 million; plastics and rubber products, $251 million; glass, clay and other nonmetallic mineral products, $220 million; printed products, $193 million; and paper products, $150 million.
New York lost 40,000 manufacturing jobs from 1997 through 2000, according to the report. More than half of those job losses were in the apparel industry, concentrated in New York City, which has been hit hard by lower-cost international competition. New York's losses in the industry were lower proportionally than those nationwide.
Manufacturers' payroll topped $27 billion statewide, according to the report. Value added by manufacturing companies was more than $85 billion. That figure -- the value of shipped goods, minus the cost of materials, fuel and related costs -- represents the net wealth created by New York manufacturers during 2000.