Economists have been debating the performance of business investment during the current recovery. Much of the debate has centered around the relative importance of policy (such as regulation) and demand. Meanwhile, from a company's perspective, it probably doesn't make sense to invest when its existing plant and equipment are already underutilized—which seems to be the case for most U.S. businesses. So maybe fancy explanations aren't really necessary for the relatively weak investment spending by U.S. companies.

Read more at http://dupress.com/articles/manufacturing-capacity-utilization-recovery-from-recession/.