[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 231 (Thursday, December 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75171-75172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30271]


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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: Annual Capital Expenditures Survey.
    Form Number(s): ACE-1(S), ACE-1(M), ACE-1(L), ACE-2.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0782.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 153,300.
    Number of Respondents: 77,250.
    Average Hours Per Response: 1.98 hours.
    Needs and Uses: A major concern of economic policymakers is the 
adequacy of investment in plant and equipment. Data on the amount of 
business expenditures for new plant and equipment and measures of the 
stock of existing facilities are critical to evaluating productivity 
growth, the ability of U.S. business to compete with foreign business, 
changes in industrial capacity, and overall economic performance. The 
ACES survey is the sole source of detailed comprehensive statistics on 
investment in buildings and other structures, machinery, and equipment 
by private nonfarm businesses in the United States.
    This request is for a continuation of a currently approved 
collection and will cover the 2010 through 2012 ACES (conducted in 
fiscal years 2011 through 2013). Changes from the previous ACES 
authorization are the elimination of detailed capital expenditures by 
type of structure and type of equipment. These data, collected every 
five years, were collected in the 2008 ACES and will not be collected 
again until the 2013 ACES.
    The ACES is an integral part of the Federal Government's effort to 
improve the quality and usefulness of National economic statistics. 
Federal agencies, including the Census Bureau, use these data to 
improve and supplement ongoing statistical programs:
    The Census Bureau uses the data to improve the quality of monthly 
economic indicators of investment. The Bureau's Value of New 
Construction Put in Place survey currently uses the ACES data to 
benchmark its industrial buildings data. The Bureau of Economic 
Analysis (BEA) uses the data in refining and evaluating annual 
estimates of investment in structures and equipment

[[Page 75172]]

in the national income and product accounts, compiling annual input-
output tables, and computing gross domestic product by industry. The 
Federal Reserve Board uses the data to improve estimates of investment 
indicators for monetary policy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the 
data to improve estimates of capital stocks for productivity analysis.
    In addition, industry analysts use the data for market analysis, 
economic forecasting, product development, and business planning.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, Not-for-profit 
Institutions.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

    Legal Authority: The Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 182, 224, and 
225.

    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 6616, 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: November 26, 2010.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-30271 Filed 12-1-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P