Capital and Repair Expenditures, Actual, Preliminary Actual and Intentions (CAPEX)

Detailed information for 2000

This survey collects data on capital and repair* expenditures in Canada. The information is used by Federal and Provincial governments and agencies, trade associations, universities and international organizations for policy development and as a measure of regional activity. *Organizations reporting in the preliminary actual, intentions were not asked for repair expenditures.

Data release - July 19, 2000

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Documentation

Description

This annual survey collects data on the intentions for capital investment and the expenditures for the previous two years; on occasion, where economic changes justify the need, data on the revised intentions are also collected for the current year. Information on capital spending provides a useful indication of market conditions both in the economy at large and in particular industries. Since such expenditures account for a large and relatively variable proportion of gross domestic expenditures, the size and content of the investment program provides significant information about demands that have been placed upon the productive capabilities of the economy during the period covered by the survey. In addition, information on the relative size of the capital expenditures program planned, both in total and for individual industries, gives an indication of the views management hold on the future market demands in relation to present productive capacity. Inputs are used by the Canadian System of National Accounts, particularly in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Balance of Payments. The information is used by Federal and Provincial governments and agencies, trade associations, universities and international organizations for policy development and as a measure of regional activity.

Reference period: Fiscal year

Subjects

• Business, consumer and property services
• Construction
• Economic accounts
• Machinery and equipment
• Non-residential building construction
• Non-residential engineering construction
• Repair and maintenance

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population comprises all business and government entities operating in Canada. Outlays for used Canadian assets are excluded since they constitute a transfer of assets within Canada and have no effect on the aggregates of our domestic inventory. Assets imported from outside Canada are included as they increase our domestic inventory.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: Intentions for year Y: Nov. (Y-1) to Feb. (Y); Preliminary Actual (Y-1): Nov. (Y-1) to Feb. (Y); Actual (Y-2): March (Y-1) to Oct. (Y-1); Revised Intentions (Y): May (Y) to July (Y).

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents, extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.

Three survey periods are organized and timed to collect four sets of annual data related to investment intentions, revised intentions, preliminary actual expenditures and actual capital and repair expenditures. The investment intentions for year Y and the preliminary actual expenditures for Y-1 are collected, using a combined questionnaire, from November of Y-1 to February of Y; the revised intentions for Y are collected from May of Y to July of Y; the actual capital and repair expenditures for Y-2 are collected from March of Y-1 to October of Y-1. Establishments selected for the sample receive either the regular survey questionnaire (short or long form), a specialized survey questionnaire (short or long form) or the new project questionnaire. The type of questionnaire an establishment receives depends on the industry, the expected level of expenditure, the set of data being collected and whether or not the establishment is classified as a new project. Respondents are asked to report expenditures for their 12 months fiscal period for which the final day occurs between April 1 of the reference year and March 31 of the following year.

Once the sample has been selected, questionnaires are mailed out. Units that have not responded are subject to mail, fax and telephone follow-up to ensure the data is obtained. A special effort is made for units in the take-all strata.

In addition to the data collected by the above mentioned questionnaires, data which are incorporated into the production of capital expenditure estimates are also obtained from other surveys conducted by Statistics Canada and from provincial government administrative files. As well, some estimates of capital expenditures for some industries are produced based on indicators of production, consumption and costs associated with operation in those industries.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s).

Error detection

The preliminary actual is revised on the later actual survey. The intentions estimate is revised on three later surveys for the same year: revised intentions (revised forecast survey), preliminary actual and actual.

Imputation

Non-respondents are imputed where possible using their previous response for the same year which is adjusted by a factor for survey over survey rate of change. Grossing of samples is based on a variety of related indicators as are projections of benchmarks to include every industry in Canada. There is a limited relationship between investment activity and measurements of any other activity for any particular year, hence there is a problem of knowing what the "true" total for investment ever is for any industry, province or year.

Quality evaluation

In the surveyed portion, response represents about 90% of the total value published. In the non-surveyed portions where benchmark projections are used, a similar approximation of quality is not available.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Documentation

• Sources and Methods - Capital and Repair Expenditures, Actual Preliminary and Intentions
  • Format: Sources and Methods - Capital and Repair Expenditures, Actual Preliminary and Intentions - ARCHIVED - PDF, 4479.86[ARCHIVED - PDF, 4479.86 kb]