[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 135 (Friday, July 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32627-32629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14982]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Annual Survey 
of Manufactures

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

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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.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before September 11, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW, 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 Julius Smith, Jr., U.S. Census Bureau, Economy-
Wide Statistics Division, Room 8K053, 4600 Silver Hill Road, 
Washington, DC 20233, (301) 763-7662 or via the internet at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau has conducted the Annual Survey of Manufactures 
(ASM) since 1949 to provide key measures of manufacturing activity 
during intercensal periods. In census years ending in ``2'' and ``7'', 
the Census Bureau mails and collects the ASM as part of the Economic 
Census. In other years, the ASM is mailed and collected as a stand-
alone survey. This survey is an integral part of the Federal 
Government's statistical data on U.S. manufacturers. The ASM furnishes 
up-to-date estimates of employment and payroll, hours and wages of 
production workers, value added by manufacture, cost of materials, 
value of shipments by product, inventories, and expenditures for both 
plant equipment and structures. The survey provides data at the two-
through six-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 
levels. It also provides geographic data by state at a more aggregated 
industry level.
    The survey provides valuable information to private companies, 
research organizations, and trade associations. Industry makes 
extensive use of the annual figures on product shipments at the U.S. 
level in its market analysis, product planning, and investment 
planning. The ASM data are used to benchmark and reconcile monthly and 
quarterly data on manufacturing production and inventories.
    With the 2018 ASM, the Census Bureau plans to make the following 
changes to this data collection:

MA-10000(L)--Long Form

    a. Special Inquiry: Add a new Special Inquiry on basic robotic use 
in manufacturing to gauge the prevalence of robotics use in the 
manufacturing sector across different geographies and by firm size.
    b. Item 22 (Product Classification): Previously, Item 22, Details 
of Sales Shipments Receipts or Revenue was collected using the North 
American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Moving forward, the 
collection of Item 22 will be based on the North American Product 
Classification System (NAPCS). NAPCS is a comprehensive demand-based 
hierarchical classification system for products that is not industry-
of-origin based, but can be linked to the NAICS industry structure, and 
is consistent across the three North American countries.
    c. Item 22 (Miscellaneous Receipts): Due to the implementation of 
NAPCS, Miscellaneous Receipts will not be collected. In previous ASM 
years, products were collected by NAICS codes which were specific to 
manufacturing-only. Out of sector products, produced by manufacturing 
establishments were classified as Miscellaneous Receipts. Miscellaneous 
Receipts included contract work, resales, and other. NAPCS is an 
economy-wide solution, which will allow ASM respondents to classify out 
of sector products in valid NAPCS codes.

MA-10000(S)--Short Form

    a. All respondents will complete the long form, MA-10000(L). The 
MA-10000(S), short form will be eliminated. Historically, all 
establishments of multiunit companies plus the large single-location 
companies in the sample were asked to report on the MA-10000(L). The 
remaining single-location companies in the sample were asked to report 
on the MA-10000(S). In 2014, approximately 3,000 out of 51,000 sampled 
establishments received the MA-10000(S). This change will impact less 
than 6% of respondents. The MA-10000(S) was an abbreviated version of 
the MA-10000(L), and collected significantly less detailed data. Data 
not collected on the MA-10000(S) were imputed. Imputation rates and 
estimates will improve by eliminating the MA-10000(S).

II. Method of Collection

    The ASM statistics are derived from a sample of manufacturing 
establishments. The 2012 Economic Census--Manufacturing contained 
approximately 294,600 active manufacturing establishments. For sample 
efficiency and cost considerations, the population was partitioned into 
two groups: Establishments eligible to be mailed a questionnaire 
(101,250 establishments) and establishments not eligible to be mailed a 
questionnaire (193,350 establishments). The group of establishments 
that is not eligible to be mailed a questionnaire still contributes to 
the ASM estimates. The group of establishments that is eligible to be 
mailed a questionnaire is defined as the mail stratum. It is comprised 
of larger single-location manufacturing companies and all manufacturing 
establishments of multi-location companies. Of the 101,250 
establishments in the mail stratum, 47,800 establishments were selected 
for the ASM sample using methodology similar to what was used for 
previous ASM samples. The initial sample was supplemented with 
manufacturing establishments that were newly opened in 2013 (births) to 
yield a sample of 50,200 establishments for the 2014 ASM. Births added 
to the mail stratum are large, single-location companies and new 
manufacturing establishments of multi-location companies. Births are 
added annually to the mail sample, and the current sample size is 
approximately 55,000 establishments.
    The initial mailing will include a letter instructing respondents 
to report online. Paper forms will not be available. The electronic 
reporting system provides a cost-effective and user-friendly method to 
collect data from companies. Companies will be supplied a unique 
authentication code for the electronic reporting tool. Respondents have 
the option of printing a worksheet that lists all of the questions. 
Respondents can print the worksheet to use as a guide to respond or can 
print the worksheet after completing the questionnaire as a record of 
their response. As in the previous section, all respondents will 
complete the long form.
    The group of establishments that is not eligible to be mailed a 
questionnaire is defined as the nonmail stratum. The nonmail stratum 
contained the remaining 193,350 single-location companies. Although 
this group still contributes to the ASM estimates, no data are 
collected from companies in the nonmail stratum. Rather, data are 
imputed using administrative records of the Internal Revenue Service 
(IRS), the Social Security Administration (SSA), and the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics (BLS)

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or are imputed based on industry averages. Though the nonmail companies 
account for nearly two-thirds of the establishments in the universe, 
they account for only about 6 percent of the manufacturing output. The 
nonmail stratum is supplemented annually with small manufacturing 
births that are not included in the mail stratum.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0449.
    Form Number(s): MA-10000(L).
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Business or Other for Profit, Non-profit 
Institutions, Small Businesses or Organizations, and State or Local 
Governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 55,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 4 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 220,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0. (This is not the cost of 
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for 
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to 
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services 
required specifically by the collection.)
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 131 and 182.

IV. 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,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-14982 Filed 7-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P