[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34395-34396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9259]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Proposed Collection, Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance 
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to 
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, 
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. The 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the 
proposed revision of the ``International Price Program--U.S. Import 
Product Information.'' A copy of the proposed information collection 
request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual listed below 
in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
ADDRESSES section of this notice on or before August 14, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080, 
2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Washington, DC 20212, telephone number 
202-691-7628. (This is not a toll free number.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer, 
telephone number 202-691-7628. (See ADDRESSES section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The U.S. Import Price Indexes, produced continuously by the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics' International Price Program (IPP) since 1973, 
measure price change over time for all categories of imported products, 
as well as many services. The Office of Management and Budget has 
listed the Import Price Indexes as a Principal Federal Economic 
Indicator since 1982. The indexes are widely used in both the public 
and private sectors. The primary public sector use is the deflation of 
the U.S. Trade Statistics and the Gross Domestic Product; the indexes 
also are used in formulating U.S. trade policy and in trade 
negotiations with other countries. In the private sector, uses of the 
Import Price Indexes include market analysis, inflation forecasting, 
contract escalation, and replacement cost accounting.
    The IPP indexes are closely followed statistics, and are viewed as 
a sensitive indicator of the economic environment. The U.S. Department 
of Commerce uses the monthly statistics to produce monthly and 
quarterly estimates of inflation-adjusted trade flows. Without 
continuation of data collection, it would be extremely difficult to 
construct accurate estimates of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. In 
addition, Federal policymakers in the Department of Treasury, the 
Council of Economic Advisers, and the Federal Reserve Board utilize 
these statistics on a regular basis to improve these agencies' 
formulation and evaluation of monetary and fiscal policy and evaluation 
of the general business environment.

II. Current Action

    The IPP continues to modernize data collection and processing to 
permit more timely release of its indexes, and to reduce reporter 
burden. Recently, the IPP implemented changes to reduce

[[Page 34396]]

burden on those reporters that are major traders and account for a 
significant portion of trade. Field economists are provided with more 
accurate information about the potential overlap between establishments 
that are both in both the IPP and the Producer Price Index in order to 
better coordinate visits to establishments when obtaining new items for 
repricing. The IPP also implemented an enhanced refinement process that 
provides Industry Analysts the ability to reduce the burden for a 
respondent when necessary and modified the second stage selection 
algorithm to lower the percentage of infrequently traded areas that are 
sampled, because they are more likely to be out-of-scope for the IPP. 
These improvements should reduce the overall burden on respondents and 
improve the IPP's overall response rate at initiation. In addition, in 
2003 the IPP introduced a web application for monthly data collection. 
This tool allows respondents to directly update their data online via 
the Internet. Web collection has expanded rapidly since the IPP began 
soliciting respondents and as of April 2006, the Program had solicited 
70 percent of all respondents, with a goal of 75 percent by September 
2006, and 95 percent by September 2007. Through April 2006, nearly 40 
percent of the IPP respondents are actually utilizing web collection 
while the majority of respondents still use the mailout/faxback 
process. In addition, email repricing has the possibility of expanding, 
and over time, these various electronic data collection methods for 
repricing will continue to allow the IPP to collect and publish monthly 
data in a timely manner.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in 
comments that:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.
    Type of Review: Revision.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: International Price Program/U.S. Import Product Information.
    OMB Number: 1220-0026.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.

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                                                                                   Average time      Estimated
               Form                    Total          Frequency          Total     per response    total burden
                                    respondents                        responses      (hours)         (hours)
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Initiation Visit (includes form           2,000  Annually...........       2,000             1.0           2,000
 3008).
Form 3007D.......................         3,700  Monthly............      23,680           .6507          15,409
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    Totals.......................         5,700  ...................      25,680  ..............          17,409
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    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they also will become a 
matter of public record.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 6th day of June, 2006.
Catherine Kazanowski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
 [FR Doc. E6-9259 Filed 6-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P