Along with its 2013 Scoreboard, the EU also published a survey of industrial R&D trends. The survey is based on responses from 172 EU Scoreboard companies, which collectively spend €62 billion ($79 billion = €0.78 = $1) on R&D.

The respondents expect their R&D expenditures to increase an average of 2.6% from 2013 to 2015. This is slower growth than reported in previous surveys due to the Automobile and Parts firms’ plans to reduce R&D spending by 0.4% on average. Excluding the Automobile and Parts firms, the average growth rate for expected R&D spending is 4%.

R&D spending is expected to grow the fastest for the Electronic and Electrical Equipment, General Industrials, Construction and Materials, and Industrial Engineering firms, for which it is expected to rise 9.2%, 7.2%, 7.2% and 5.5% on average, respectively. The Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, Chemicals, Health Care Equipment and Services, and Aerospace and Parts firms expect R&D spending to increase 4.4%, 4.3%, 2.2% and 1.8% on average, respectively.

Twenty-four percent of the respondents conduct R&D outside of the EU. The most popular destination is North America, where 11% of R&D is located. Together, China and India accounted for only 5% of foreign-based R&D. Over the next three years, R&D investment in the EU is expected to rise 1.2%, but to increase 2.9% excluding Automobile and Parts firms. R&D spending in India is expected to increase 14.9%, and to rise 9.0% in China. North American R&D spending is estimated to increase 6.4%. Nearly all firms indicated their home countries had the highest R&D volumes.