percent. Acquisitions added 1.4 percent, while foreign currency translation reduced sales by 1.6 percent. Organic local-currency sales increased 7.1 percent in Latin America/Canada, 3.6 percent in Asia Pacific, 3.1 percent in the United States, and 2.1 percent in EMEA. For 2013, international operations represented 63.9 percent of 3M’s sales.

 

Geographic Area Supplemental Information

  

Employment:

 

Employment increased by 1,133 positions in 2014 and 990 positions in 2013. The primary factors that increased employment in both years was additions in developing economies to support growth, plus additions related to the Treo Solutions LLC acquisition in 2014.

 

Capital Spending/Net Property, Plant and Equipment:

 

Investments in property, plant and equipment enable growth across many diverse markets, helping to meet product demand and increasing manufacturing efficiency. 3M’s capital spending by geography has been led by the United States (61% of spending in 2014), followed by Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America/Canada. 3M is continuing to increase its manufacturing and sourcing capability, particularly in developing economies, in order to more closely align its product capability with its sales in major geographic areas. 3M will continue to make investments in critical developing markets, such as Brazil, China, Mexico, Panama, Poland, Singapore, Southeast Asia, and Turkey. Capital spending is discussed in more detail later in MD&A in the section entitled “Cash Flows from Investing Activities.”

 

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

 

Information regarding significant accounting policies is included in Note 1. As stated in Note 1, the preparation of financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

 

The Company believes its most critical accounting estimates relate to legal proceedings, the Company’s pension and postretirement obligations, asset impairments and income taxes. Senior management has discussed the development, selection and disclosure of its critical accounting estimates with the Audit Committee of 3M’s Board of Directors.

 

Legal Proceedings:

 

The categories of claims for which the Company has a probable and estimable liability, the amount of its liability accruals, and the estimates of its related insurance receivables are critical accounting estimates related to legal proceedings. Please refer to the section entitled “Process for Disclosure and Recording of Liabilities and Insurance Receivables Related to Legal Proceedings” (contained in “Legal Proceedings” in Note 13) for additional information about such estimates.

 

Pension and Postretirement Obligations:

 

3M has various