[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 9, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23668-23669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-11605]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission For OMB Review; Comment Request

    DOC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: 2002 Economic Census Covering The Wholesale Trade Sector.
    Form Number(s): Too numerous to list here.
    Agency Approval Number: none.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Burden: 720,000 hours in FY 2003.
    Number of Respondents: 480,000.
    Avg Hours Per Response: 1.5 hours.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests Office of 
Management and Budget approval of the information collection forms it 
will use in conducting the 2002 Economic Census covering the Wholesale 
Trade Sector. The wholesale trade sector comprises establishments 
primarily engaged in the selling or arranging the purchase or sale of 
durable nonconsumer goods, selling goods for resale, and the sale of 
other goods from establishments that operate from a warehouse or office 
and do not normally advertise directly to the general public. The 
census will use a mail canvass, supplemented by data from Federal 
administrative records, to measure the economic activity of more than 
480,000 wholesale establishments classified in the North American 
Industry Classification System (NAICS).
    The economic census will produce basic statistics by kind of 
business on number of establishments, sales, payroll, employment, 
inventories, and operating expenses. It also will yield a variety of 
subject statistics, including sales by commodity line; e-commerce 
sales; sales by class of customer; employment by principal activity; 
measures of gross margin and gross profit; and other industry-specific 
measures, such as bulk storage capacity by type of facility for 
petroleum bulk stations and terminals. Basic statistics will be 
summarized for the United States, states, and metropolitan areas, and 
counties and places having 2,500 inhabitants or more. Tabulations of 
subject statistics also will present data for the United States and, in 
some cases, for states and metropolitan areas.
    The economic census is the primary source of facts about the 
structure and functioning of the Nation's economy and features unique 
industry and geographic detail. Economic census statistics serve as 
part of the framework for the national accounts and provide essential 
information for government, business, and the general public. The 
Federal Government uses information from the economic census as an 
important part of the framework for the national income and product 
accounts, input-output tables, economic indexes, and other composite 
measures that serve as the factual basis for economic policy-making, 
planning, and program administration. Further, the census provides 
sampling frames and benchmarks for current surveys of business which 
track short-term economic trends, serve as economic indicators, and 
contribute critical source data for current estimates of gross domestic 
product. State and local governments rely on the economic census as a 
unique source of comprehensive economic statistics for small geographic 
areas for use in policy-making, planning, and program administration. 
Finally, industry, business, academe, and the general public use 
information from the economic census for evaluating markets, preparing 
business plans, making business decisions, developing economic models 
and forecasts, conducting economic research, and

[[Page 23669]]

establishing benchmarks for their own sample surveys.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit organizations; 
individuals or households; not-for-profit institutions; state, local, 
or tribal government.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 USC, Sections 131 and 224.
    OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Madeleine Clayton, Departmental Paperwork 
Clearance Officer, (202) 482-3129, Department of Commerce, room 6086, 
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 
Internet at [email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer, room 10201, New Executive Office 
Building, Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: May 3, 2001.
Madeleine Clayton,
Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 01-11605 Filed 5-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P