bhge 2018 form 10-k | 39 outstanding under the commercial paper program . the maximum combined borrowing at any time under both the 2017 credit agreement and the commercial paper program is $ 3 billion . if market conditions were to change and our revenue was reduced significantly or operating costs were to increase , our cash flows and liquidity could be reduced . additionally , it could cause the rating agencies to lower our credit rating . there are no ratings triggers that would accelerate the maturity of any borrowings under our committed credit facility . however , a downgrade in our credit ratings could increase the cost of borrowings under the credit facility and could also limit or preclude our ability to issue commercial paper . should this occur , we could seek alternative sources of funding , including borrowing under the credit facility . during the year ended december 31 , 2018 , we used cash to fund a variety of activities including certain working capital needs and restructuring costs , capital expenditures , the repayment of debt , payment of dividends , distributions to ge and share repurchases . we believe that cash on hand , cash flows generated from operations and the available credit facility will provide sufficient liquidity to manage our global cash needs . cash flows cash flows provided by ( used in ) each type of activity were as follows for the years ended december 31: .
what is the net change in cash during 2018?
operating activities our largest source of operating cash is payments from customers , of which the largest component is collecting cash related to product or services sales including advance payments or progress collections for work to be performed . the primary use of operating cash is to pay our suppliers , employees , tax authorities and others for a wide range of material and services . cash flows from operating activities generated cash of $ 1762 million and used cash of $ 799 million for the years ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 , respectively . cash flows from operating activities increased $ 2561 million in 2018 primarily driven by better operating performance . these cash inflows were supported by strong working capital cash flows , especially in the fourth quarter of 2018 , including approximately $ 300 million for a progress collection payment from a customer . included in our cash flows from operating activities for 2018 and 2017 are payments of $ 473 million and $ 612 million , respectively , made primarily for employee severance as a result of our restructuring activities and merger and related costs . cash flows from operating activities used $ 799 million and generated $ 262 million for the years ended december 31 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively . cash flows from operating activities decreased $ 1061 million in 2017 primarily driven by a $ 1201 million negative impact from ending our receivables monetization program in the fourth quarter , and restructuring related payments throughout the year . these cash outflows were partially offset by strong working capital cash flows , especially in the fourth quarter of 2017 . included in our cash flows from operating activities for 2017 and 2016 are payments of $ 612 million and $ 177 million , respectively , made for employee severance as a result of our restructuring activities and merger and related costs . investing activities cash flows from investing activities used cash of $ 578 million , $ 4123 million and $ 472 million for the years ended december 31 , 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively . our principal recurring investing activity is the funding of capital expenditures to ensure that we have the appropriate levels and types of machinery and equipment in place to generate revenue from operations . expenditures for capital assets totaled $ 995 million , $ 665 million and $ 424 million for 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively , partially offset by cash flows from the sale of property , plant and equipment of $ 458 million , $ 172 million and $ 20 million in 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively . proceeds from the disposal of assets related primarily .