Small Business Capital Spending Plans Lag Behind Previous Years

May 22, 2024

Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor

Small Business Capital Spending Plans Lag Behind Previous Years

“A recovery in investment is needed to support stronger productivity, but this is unlikely to occur while interest rates remain high, and more owners anticipate slower sales. Long term, the worker shortage has given firms an incentive to invest in labor saving technology. But, overall, capital spending is sluggish and not yet back to pre-pandemic levels,” says NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg.

Here are the statistics on capital outlays:

• In April, 56% of small business owners reported capital outlays in the last six months.
• 22% of small business owners plan to make a capital expenditure in the next three to six months, up 2% from March.
• 38% of businesses purchased equipment, 24% purchased vehicles, and 16% improved or expanded facilities (down by 1%).
• Both seeing an increase of 1% from March, 11% of small business owners spent capital on furniture or fixtures and 6% added new buildings or land.

Source:
NFIB SBET April 2024 Report