[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 30, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51569-51570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14359]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    DOC will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under 
the

[[Page 51570]]

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Survey of Plant Capacity Utilization.
    Form Number(s): MQ-C1, MQ-C2.
    Agency Approval Number: 0607-0175.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 74,250 hours.
    Number of Respondents: MQ-C1--17,000; MQ-C2--6,000.
    Avg. Hours per Response: MQ-C1--2.25 hours; MQ-C2--1.5 hours.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests a revision of 
approval for the Survey of Plant Capacity Utilization (SPC). The 
current survey is conducted annually and collects fourth quarter 
production data. The survey provides information on use of industrial 
capacity in manufacturing and publishing plants as defined by the North 
American Industry Classification System (NAICS). It is the only source 
of capacity rates at the 6-digit NAICS industry levels.
    Changes in capacity utilization are considered important indicators 
of investment demand and inflationary pressure. For these reasons, the 
estimates of capacity utilization are closely monitored by government 
and private policy makers.
    The annual survey (MQ-C1) collects the value of fourth quarter 
production and the value of production that could have been achieved if 
operating under ``full production'' and ``emergency production'' 
levels. The ratios of the actual to the full and emergency production 
levels are the basis of the estimates of capacity utilization. The 
survey also collects information by shift, on work patterns at actual 
production and full production levels.
    With support from the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), the Census 
Bureau is requesting approval to collect capacity utilization data on a 
quarterly basis in addition to the annual collection. Response to the 
quarterly survey (MQ-C2) would be voluntary. Response to the annual 
survey is mandatory. The quarterly survey would collect a subset of the 
data collected on the annual survey.
    The FRB is the primary user of the current SPC data and have 
expressed the need for these quarterly data. The FRB publishes measures 
of industrial production (IP) that are either estimated from physical 
product data or estimated from monthly data on inputs to the production 
process, specifically production worker hours and an indicator of 
capital input. For many years, data on electric power use was used as 
the indicator of industry capital input. The deregulation of 
electricity markets led to the deterioration in the coverage and 
quality of the electricity data.
    As a result, in November 2005, the FRB discontinued its use of the 
industrial electric power data in the current estimates of IP. In order 
to maintain the quality of the IP index, the collection of these 
quarterly utilization data, such as the workweek of capital, become 
critical indicators of capital input use and industry output.
    The FRB will use these data in several ways. First, the capital 
workweek data will be used as an indicator of capital use in the 
estimation of monthly output (IP). Second, the workweek data will also 
be used to improve the projections of labor productivity that are used 
to align IP with comprehensive benchmark information in the Economic 
Census covering the Manufacturing sector and Annual Survey of 
Manufactures. Third, the utilization rate data will assist in the 
assessment of recent changes in IP, as most of the high-frequency 
movement in utilization rates reflect production changes rather than 
capacity changes.
    The Defense Logistics Agency uses the data to assess readiness to 
meet demand for goods under selected national emergency scenarios.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Frequency: MQ-C1--Annually; MQ-C2--Quarterly.
    Respondent's Obligation: MQ-C1--Mandatory; MQ-C2--Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 182 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: August 24, 2006.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-14359 Filed 8-29-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P