[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3717-3719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00525]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Monthly Retail 
Surveys

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before March 13, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW.,

[[Page 3718]]

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Rebecca DeNale, U.S. Census Bureau, EID HQ-8K181, 
4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 20233-6500, (301) 763-3113 (or 
via the Internet at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau plans to request a revision of the current Office 
of Management and Budget clearance for the surveys known as the Monthly 
Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) and the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey 
(MARTS). The MRTS and MARTS are related collections sharing the same 
initial sample frame and collect data that are published in conjunction 
with each other. These two surveys, currently cleared separately under 
control numbers 0607-0717 and 0607-0104, respectively, will therefore 
be combined under one control number and will be collectively called 
the Monthly Retail Surveys (MRS).
    The Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) provides estimates of 
monthly retail sales, end-of-month merchandise inventories, and 
quarterly e-commerce sales for firms located in the United States and 
classified in the Retail Trade or Food Services sectors as defined by 
the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
    Estimates produced from the MRTS are based on a probability sample 
of approximately 11,500 firms. The sample design consists of one fixed 
panel where all cases are requested to report sales, e-commerce sales, 
and/or inventories for the prior month. If reporting data for a period 
other than the calendar month, the survey asks for the period's length 
(4 or 5 weeks) and the date on which the period ended. The survey also 
asks for the number of establishments covered by the data provided and 
whether or not the sales data provided are estimates or more accurate 
``book'' figures. The sample is drawn approximately every 5 years from 
the Business Register, which contains all Employer Identification 
Numbers (EINs) and listed establishment locations. The sample is 
updated quarterly to reflect employer business ``births'' and 
``deaths''; adding new employer businesses identified in the Business 
and Professional Classification Survey (SQ-CLASS) and deleting firms 
and EINs when it is determined they are no longer active. Estimates 
from the MRTS are released in three different reports each month. High 
level aggregate estimates for end of month inventories are first 
released as part of the Advance Economic Indicators Report 
approximately 27 days after the close of the reference month. The sales 
and inventories estimates from MRTS are released approximately 44 days 
after the close of the reference month as part of the Monthly Retail 
Trade report and the Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales 
(MTIS) report, which are released on the same day. Additionally, once 
per quarter, data for quarterly e-commerce sales are released 
approximately 48 days after the close of the reference quarter as part 
of the Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales report.
    Effective with the next MRTS sample, which begins collection in 
December of 2017, we will be removing the Leased Department question 
and all impacted forms, and will no longer provide monthly estimates 
for this data series moving forward. All historical series including 
these estimates will still be available to data users.
    The Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MARTS) provides an early 
indication of monthly sales for retail trade and food services firms 
located in the United States. It was developed in response to requests 
by government, business, and other users to provide an early indication 
of current retail trade activity in the United States. Retail sales are 
one of the primary measures of consumer demand for both durable and 
non-durable goods. The MARTS survey results are published approximately 
14 days after the end of the reference month. MARTS provides a 
designated principal economic indicator and the earliest available 
monthly estimates of broad based retail trade activity. It also 
provides an estimate of monthly sales at food service establishments 
and drinking places. If the advance survey were not conducted, there 
would be a delay in the availability of these results as the results 
from the MRTS are not published until approximately 6 weeks after the 
end of the reference month.
    The MARTS sample is a sub-sample of companies selected from the 
MRTS. The advance survey sample of about 4,900 companies are selected 
using a stratified design where the companies are selected by 
stratifying the companies in the larger MRTS sample by industry and 
size and selecting the desired number of cases within each size stratum 
using a systematic probability-proportional-to-size procedure where the 
size used is the MRTS sampling weight. Some 1,250 firms, because of 
their relatively large effect on the sales of certain industry groups, 
are selected with certainty. The MARTS sample is re-selected, generally 
at 2\1/2\ to 3 year intervals, to ensure it is representative of the 
target population and redistribute burden for small and medium size 
businesses.
    Advance sales estimates for each kind of business are developed by 
applying a ratio of current-month to previous-month sales (derived from 
the advance retail and food service sample) to the preliminary estimate 
of sales for the previous month (from the larger monthly sample). 
Industry estimates are summed to derive total retail sales figures.
    The MARTS survey requests sales and e-commerce sales for the month 
just ending. As on the MRTS survey, if firms report data for a period 
other than the calendar month, the survey asks for the period's length 
(4 or 5 weeks) and the date on which the period ended. Also similar to 
MRTS, the survey also asks for the number of establishments covered by 
the data provided and whether or not the sales data provided are 
estimates or more accurate ``book'' figures. At this time, there are no 
planned changes for MARTS.
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) uses the information 
collected on these surveys to prepare the National Income and Products 
Accounts, to benchmark the annual input-output tables and as critical 
inputs to the calculation of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 
Policymakers such as the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) need to have the 
timeliest estimates in order to anticipate economic trends and act 
accordingly. The Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) and other 
government agencies and businesses use the survey results to formulate 
and make decisions about economic policy.

II. Method of Collection

    We will collect this information by mail, FAX, telephone follow-up, 
and internet.

III. Data

    OMB Control Numbers: 0607-0104 and 0607-0717.
    Form Numbers: SM-4412A-A, SM-4412A-E, SM-4412AE-A, SM-4412AE-E, SM-
4412AS-A, SM-4412AS-E, SM-7212A-A, SM7212A-E, SM-2012I-A, SM-2012I-E, 
SM-4412B-A, SM4412B-E, SM-4412BE-A, SM-4412BE-E, SM4412BS-A, SM-4412BS-
E, SM-4412S-A, SM-4412S-E, SM-4412SE-A, SM-4412SE-E, SM-4412SS-A, SM-
4412SS-E, SM-7212S-A, SM-7212S-E, SM-4512B-A, SM-4512B-E, SM-4512BE-A, 
SM-4512BE-E, SM-4512BS-A, SM-4512BS-E, SM-4512S-

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A, SM-4512S-E, SM-4512SE-A, SM-4512SE-E, SM-4512SS-A, SM-4512SS-E.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Retail and Food Services firms in the United 
States.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: MRTS-10,305; MARTS-4,700.
    Estimated Time per Response: MRTS-7 minutes; MARTS-5 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 19,327.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 131 and 
182.

V. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

Sheleen Dumas,
PRA Departmental Lead, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-00525 Filed 1-11-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P