Figure 4-6 



Industrial R&D expenditures, percent change, 1971-73 



Current dollars 



Constant 1967 dollars' 



(Percent) 



-10 



I 



Motor uetiicles and otiier transportation equipment 



Rubber products 



Professional and scientific instruments 



Machinery 



Electrical equipment and communication 



Fabricated metal products 



Lumber, wood products, and furniture 



Ctiemicals and allied products 



Stone, clay, and glass products 



Food and kindred products 



Textiles and apparel 



Paper and allied products 



Aircraft and missiles 



10 10 20 30 40 



3 GNP implicit piice deflalois used to convert current dollars to constant 1967 dollars 

 SOURCE: National Science foundation. 



and improvement of the quality of the en- 

 vironment. ^ 12 



Energy is one of the civilian areas in which 

 R&D expenditures have grown and are expected 

 to increase still further in the years ahead. The 

 exploration and development of new and 

 alternative sources of energy for their own 

 needs and the needs of the Nation as a whole 

 have become important for many industries. As 

 a result, expenditures by industry for energy- 

 related R&D have risen almost 50 percent since 



" A similar stiift of federally funded R&D toward civilian 

 areas is discussed in more detail in "Resources for R&D" in 

 this report. 



1- Historically, the Federal Government's role in industrial 

 R&D dates from World War II, during which the principal 

 emphasis was on defense-related R&D. Prior to that time. 

 Federal support for industrial R&D was miniscule. (See 

 Helen Wood, Scienlific Research and Development in American 

 Industry. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1953; and Vannevar 

 Bush, Science — The Endless Frontier, a report to the President, 

 1945.) 



1972, reaching an estimated $1.1 billion in 

 1974. iJ 



The petroleum industry is the leading per- 

 former of energy R&D, with expenditures of 

 $325 million in 1973 and an estimated increase of 

 25 percent in 1974. The electrical equipment and 

 communication industry is the second largest 

 performer; these two industries combined 

 accounted for over 65 percent of all energy- 

 related R&D activities in industry in 1973. 

 Advances in technology in the use of fossil fuels 

 (particularly oil and coal) and nuclear energy are 

 the principal objectives of the industrial R&D 

 effort in this area. 



' ' "20-Percent Increase in Energy Activity Paces Industrial 

 R&D Spending in 1973", Science Resources Studies Highlights. 

 National Science Foundation (NSF 74-319), December 4, 

 1974. 



89 



