[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 127 (Friday, July 2, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 40351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-15008]


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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: Current Industrial Reports (CIR) Program, Wave II. 
Collections.
    Form Number(s): M311J, M313N, M313P, M327G, M331J, MQ311A, MQ314X, 
MQ315A, MQ325A, MQ325C, MQ325F, MQ333W, MQ335C, MA313F, MA313K, MA314Q, 
MA316A, MA321T, MA325G, MA333L, MA333P, MA334M, MA334Q, MA334S, MA335E, 
and MA335J.
    Agency Approval Number: 0607-0395.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 14,991 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 12,030.
    Avg Hours Per Response: 38 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau is requesting an extension 
of the mandatory and voluntary surveys in Wave II of the Current 
Industrial Reports (CIR) program. The Census Bureau conducts a series 
of monthly, quarterly, and annual surveys as part of the CIR program. 
The CIR program focuses primarily on the quantity and value of 
shipments of particular products and occasionally with data on 
production and inventories; unfilled orders, receipts, stocks and 
consumption; and comparative data on domestic production, exports, and 
imports of the products they cover.
    Due to the large number of surveys in the CIR program, for 
clearance purposes, the CIR surveys are divided into ``waves.'' One 
wave is resubmitted for clearance each year. Mandatory and voluntary 
surveys historically have been divided into separate clearance 
requests, making two separate clearance requests each year and six 
clearance requests in total for the CIR program. We are now combining 
the mandatory and voluntary surveys of each wave into one clearance 
request, reducing the total number of clearance requests from six to 
three, and the number of OMB submissions annually from two to one. 
Therefore, we are incorporating the burden hours currently contained in 
0607-0206 into this request and discontinuing that clearance.
    Primary users of these data are government agencies, business 
firms, trade associations, and private research and consulting 
organizations. The Federal Reserve Board uses CIR data in its monthly 
index of industrial production as well as its annual revision to the 
index. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics (BLS) use the CIR data in the estimate of components of 
gross domestic product (GDP) and the estimate of output for 
productivity analysis, respectively. Many government agencies, such as 
the International Trade Commission, Department of Agriculture, Food and 
Drug Administration, Department of Energy, Federal Aviation 
Administration, BEA, and International Trade Administration use the 
data for industrial analysis, projections, and monitoring import 
penetration. Private business firms and organizations use the data for 
trend projections, market analysis, product planning, and other 
economic and business-oriented analysis. Since the CIR program is the 
sole, consistent source of information regarding specific manufactured 
products in the intercensal years, the absence thereof would severely 
hinder the Federal Government's ability to measure and monitor 
important segments of the domestic economy, as well as the effect of 
import penetration.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Frequency: Monthly, quarterly, and annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Monthly and quarterly CIRs are typically 
voluntary. Annual reports are mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 61, 81, 182, 224, and 225.
    OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, room 6625, 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 either by fax (202-395-7245) or e-
mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: June 28, 2004.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-15008 Filed 7-1-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P