The info brief from the National Science Foundation reports that industrial research expenditures in the U.S. had a record single-year decline in 2002. An inflation-adjusted decline of $8.6 billion was the largest-ever reported since the survey began in 1953.
Link
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/showsrvy.cfm?srvy_CatID=4&srvy_Seri=13