[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 160 (Thursday, August 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51346-51347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-21086]


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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

[[Page 51347]]

information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Annual Retail Trade Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0013.
    Form Number(s): . SA-44, SA-44A, SA-44C, SA-44E, SA-44N, SA-44S, 
SA-45, SA-45C, SA-721A, SA-721B, SA-721E, SA-721F, SA-722A and SA-722E.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 33,416.
    Number of Respondents: 21,775.
    Average Hours per Response: 1 hour and 32 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS) covers 
employer firms with establishments located in the United States and 
classified in retail trade and/or accommodation and food services 
sector as defined by the North American Industry Classification System 
(NAICS). The survey requests firms to provide annual sales, e-commerce 
sales, year-end inventories held inside and outside the United States, 
total operating expenses, purchases, and accounts receivable. We also 
request, for selected industries, sales by merchandise line, percent of 
sales by class of customer, and percent of e-commerce sales to 
customers located outside the United States. These data are collected 
to provide a sound statistical basis for the formation of policy by 
various government agencies, as well as to serve as a benchmark for the 
estimates compiled from the Monthly Retail Trade Report (OMB No. 0607-
0717). Results will be made available, at the United States summary 
level, for selected retail trade, accommodation and food services 
industries approximately fifteen months after the end of the reference 
year.
    For the 2011 ARTS the Census Bureau will request two years of data 
to link our old and new samples, ensuring that our published estimates 
continue to be reliable and accurate. For the 2012 ARTS the Census 
Bureau will request data on detailed operating expenses. These data 
items were previously requested under a separate supplemental mailing 
that was conducted every 5 years. The last supplemental mailing was 
conducted in conjunction with the 2007 ARTS under OMB No. 0607-0942. 
While the retail portion of that program will be collapsed into the 
ARTS, we will continue to ask only the additional detailed expense 
questions every 5 years.
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) uses the data to estimate the 
change in private inventories component of gross domestic product (GDP) 
and output in both the benchmark and annual input-output (I-O) accounts 
and GDP by industry. Data on sales taxes are also used to prepare 
estimates of GDP by industry and to derive industry output for the I-O 
accounts. Data on detailed operating expenses, which will now be 
collected on this survey quinquennially, are used to produce national 
estimates of value added, gross output, and intermediate inputs and 
serve as a benchmark for the annual industry accounts, which provide 
the control totals for the GDP-by-state accounts. The Bureau of Labor 
Statistics uses the data as input to its Producer Price Indexes and in 
developing productivity measurements. Private businesses use the 
estimates in computing business activity indexes. Other government 
agencies and businesses use the data to satisfy a variety of public and 
business needs such as economic market analysis, company performance, 
and forecasting future demands.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: 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: August 15, 2011.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-21086 Filed 8-17-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P