The four largest fields for R&D performance by US companies in foreign countries. Credit: NSF U.S. companies spent $73 billion on research and development (R&D) performed outside the United States in 2013, according to a new report by the National Science Foundation's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
The total represented 18 percent of U.S. companies' total R&D performance. These same companies spent $323 billion on R&D performed within the United States in 2013.
Almost 50 percent of the foreign R&D performance by U.S. companies was in Europe, largely in the United Kingdom and Germany. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for 31 percent of foreign R&D, with India and China making up the largest share. Outside of Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, foreign R&D performance was highest in Canada, Israel and Brazil.
Four industries accounted for 52 percent of foreign R&D performance by U.S. companies:
- Software publishing, which was concentrated in the United Kingdom, India, Israel and Canada.
- Pharmaceuticals and medicines, which had higher concentrations of foreign R&D in Japan and Switzerland.
- Semiconductor and other electronic components, which had high concentrations of foreign R&D in Singapore, Israel, India and China.
- Automobiles, bodies, trailers and parts, which had a high concentration of foreign R&D in Germany.
U.S. companies with 500 or more domestic employees performed most foreign R&D.
On the basis of cost per R&D employee, U.S. companies spent 77 percent more on R&D performed domestically than on R&D performed outside the United States.
Differences in spending per R&D employee between domestic and foreign R&D performance were most pronounced in the information and communications technologies industries, which includes manufacturing of computer and electronics products, software publishing and computer systems design.
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