[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4041-4042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1399]


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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: Manufacturers' Unfilled Orders Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0561.
    Form Number(s): MA-3000, MA-3000(I), MA3000-L1, MA-3000-L2.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement, with change of an expired 
collection.
    Burden Hours: 3,000.
    Number of Respondents: 6,000.
    Average Hours per Response: 30 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and 
Orders (M3) survey collects monthly data on shipments, inventories, new 
orders, and unfilled orders from manufacturing companies. The orders 
and shipments data are used widely and are valuable tools for analysts 
of business cycle conditions, including members of the Council of 
Economic Advisers, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Federal Reserve Board, 
Department of the Treasury, and the business community.
    New orders serve as an indicator of future production commitments; 
the data are direct inputs into the leading economic indicator series. 
New orders, as reported in the monthly survey, are derived by adding 
shipments to the net change in the unfilled orders from the

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previous month. The ratio of unfilled orders to shipments is an 
important indicator of pressure on manufacturing capacity.
    The monthly M3 estimates are based on a relatively small panel of 
domestic manufacturers and reflect primarily the month-to-month changes 
of large companies. There is a clear need for periodic benchmarking of 
the M3 estimates to reflect the entire manufacturing universe. The 
Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM) provides annual benchmarks for the 
shipments and inventories but because the data are collected at the 
establishment level rather than the corporate level on the ASM and most 
companies retain records on unfilled orders at the corporate level, 
data collection of unfilled orders proved to be unsuccessful. In order 
to collect the appropriate and relevant data, the M3 discontinued the 
practice of collecting the data from the ASM, necessitating a separate 
survey for unfilled orders beginning in 1976. Over the life of the M3 
Survey, there have been four surveys specifically designed to collect 
unfilled orders. These surveys were conducted in 1976, 1986, 2000, and 
2008. After analyzing the results of the 2008 survey, the Census Bureau 
determined the need for an annual data collection of unfilled orders 
data. The U.S. Census Bureau plans a reinstatement with a change to an 
expired collection ``Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders 
(M3) Supplement: 2006-2007 Unfilled Orders Benchmark Survey,'' to be 
renamed the ``Manufacturers' Unfilled Orders Survey.''
    The Manufacturers' Unfilled Orders Survey will be used as a 
benchmark for the M3 Survey each year. The Census Bureau will use these 
data to develop universe estimates of unfilled orders as of the end of 
the calendar year and adjust the monthly M3 data on unfilled orders to 
these levels on the NAICS basis. The benchmarked unfilled orders levels 
will then be used to derive estimates of new orders received by 
manufacturers. The survey data will also be used to determine whether 
it is necessary to collect unfilled orders data for specific industries 
on a monthly basis; some industries are not asked to provide unfilled 
orders data on the M3 Survey.
    The Census Bureau will use the information provided by this survey 
to develop universe estimates of unfilled orders as of the end of each 
year, and then adjust the monthly M3 data on unfilled orders to these 
levels. The benchmarked unfilled orders levels will be used to derive 
estimates of new orders received by manufacturers.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 131, 182, 
193, and 224.
    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 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 Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or e-mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: January 20, 2010.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-1399 Filed 1-25-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P