[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 28 (Monday, February 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 9667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02994]



[[Page 9667]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved 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, 
as well as the shipments and inventory 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 
and the data are direct inputs into the leading economic indicator 
series. New orders, as reported on the M3 monthly survey, are derived 
by adding shipments to the net change in the unfilled orders from the 
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 manufacturing universe. The Economic 
Census covering the manufacturing sector and the Annual Survey of 
Manufactures (ASM) provide annual benchmarks for the shipments and 
inventory data in the monthly M3 survey. The Manufacturers' Unfilled 
Orders Survey provides the annual benchmarks for the unfilled orders 
data.
    The industries selected for the Manufacturers' Unfilled Orders 
Survey are those that the U.S. Census Bureau determined maintain 
considerable unfilled orders. The survey is necessary to ensure future 
accuracy of the new orders data in the M3 and to determine which NAICS 
industries continue to maintain unfilled orders.
    We plan to add a box for ``Change in Operational Status'' to the 
MA-3000 for 2012. This change does not affect burden because the 
information asked is readily available by the respondents or not 
applicable to those companies without an operational status change.
    The Census Bureau uses the information provided by this survey to 
develop universe estimates of unfilled orders as of the end of 2011 and 
2012, and then adjust the monthly M3 data on unfilled orders to these 
levels. The benchmarked unfilled orders levels are used to derive 
estimates of new orders received by manufacturers. New orders are 
derived using the following formula:
    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 Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0336, 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 email ([email protected]).

    Dated: February 6, 2013.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-02994 Filed 2-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P