[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 3, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 26650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-12846]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit 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: Survey of Plant Capacity Utilization.
    Form Number(s): MQ-C2.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0175.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 52,500.
    Number of Respondents: 7,500.
    Average Hours per Response: 1 hour and 45 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: With support from the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), 
the U.S. Census Bureau requests an extension of approval for the Survey 
of Plant Capacity Utilization (SPC). The survey is conducted quarterly. 
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 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.
    We use a mail-out/mail-back form. We also offer an electronic 
version of the form for reporting via the Internet. The survey collects 
the value of quarterly production and the value of production that 
could have been achieved if operating under ``full production'' 
capability. The ratio of the actual to the full is the basis of the 
estimates of capacity utilization. The survey also collects information 
by shift, on work patterns at the actual production level. Appendix A 
is a copy of the 2009 MQ-C2 form and instructions. Response to the 
quarterly survey is voluntary.
    The FRB is the primary user of the current SPC data and has 
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 SPC data is 
the primary source of the benchmark information for utilization rates. 
Second, the capital workweek data will be used as an indicator of 
capital use in the estimation of monthly output (IP). Third, the 
workweek data will also be used to improve the projections of labor 
productivity that are used to align IP with comprehensive benchmark 
information from the Economic Census covering the Manufacturing sector 
and Annual Survey of Manufactures. And finally, 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: Quarterly.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Section 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    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 7845, 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 Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or e-mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: May 28, 2009.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-12846 Filed 6-2-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P