[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 176 (Thursday, September 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55820-55821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19987]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Annual Wholesale Trade Survey

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of 
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on June 3, 2020 during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Annual Wholesale Trade Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0195.
    Form Number(s): SA-42A, SA-42A-MSBO, SA-42A-AGBR.
    Type of Request: Regular submission. Request for a Revision of a 
Currently Approved Collection.
    Number of Respondents: 7,743.
    Average Hours per Response: 1 hour and 16 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 9,846.
    Needs and Uses: The Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS) covers 
employer firms with establishments located in the United States and 
classified in the wholesale trade sector, as defined by the North 
American Industry Classification System (NAICS). There are two main 
types of wholesalers in the wholesale trade sector: (1) Merchant 
wholesalers and (2) agents, brokers, and electronic markets. Merchant 
wholesalers sell goods on their own account. This category includes 
sales offices and sales branches (except retail stores) maintained by 
manufacturing, refining, or mining enterprises apart from their plants 
or mines for the purpose of marketing their products. Agents, brokers, 
and electronic markets, on the other hand, arrange sales and purchases 
for others (generally for a commission or fee).
    Respondents are further separated into the following three type of 
operation categories: Merchant wholesalers, excluding manufacturers' 
sales branches and offices; manufacturers' sales branches and offices; 
and agents, brokers, and electronic markets. The firms are instructed 
to submit their information to the Census Bureau via Centurion, the 
Census Bureau's online reporting instrument. The AWTS requests data on 
a variety of topics. A firm's type of operation classification dictates 
which particular subset of data items it will receive.
    In response to a request from the Bureau of Economic Analysis 
(BEA), the AWTS will also collect annual detailed operating expenses 
and annual sales tax information during survey year 2022. Respondents 
are only asked to provide data for these two items in years ending in 
``2'' and ``7'', which coincide with the Economic Census collection. 
Merchant wholesalers, excluding manufacturers' sales branches and 
offices, will receive the detailed operating expenses and sales tax 
questions. Conversely, manufacturers' sales branches and offices will 
only see the sales tax question. Companies that fall under the agents, 
brokers, and electronic markets category will not be asked to provide 
detailed operating expenses or sales tax information.
    This survey provides an official, continuous measure of wholesale 
activity in the United States. Government agencies, private businesses, 
and researchers utilize the estimates generated from the AWTS in a 
variety of ways, including to conduct market analysis and forecast 
future demand.
    From survey year 2016 through survey year 2019, there were five 
electronic form types (SA-42, SA-42A, SA-42A-MSBO, SA-42-AGBR, and SA-
42A-AGBR). Starting with survey year 2020 (which will be collected in 
2021), there will only be three electronic form types (SA-42A, SA-42A-
MSBO, and SA-42A-AGBR). SA-42 and SA-42-AGBR are being removed to 
streamline data collection operations and reduce respondent burden.
    Each year, estimates generated from the AWTS are released to the 
public approximately 14 months after the reference period has 
concluded. These national-level estimates are published (for the 
various items collected) by NAICS code and type of operation. (The 
current sample was selected on a 2012 NAICS basis, so the estimates are 
also released on a 2012 NAICS basis. Data will not be published on a 
2017 NAICS basis until the next sample revision occurs, which will not 
take place during this three-year clearance window.) The data are 
currently disseminated through the AWTS website. In the future, 
however, the data will be released via the Census Bureau's 
dissemination platform, data.census.gov. The survey year 2020 data 
products are scheduled to be released through data.census.gov.
    The Census Bureau issued a pre-submission notice that was published 
in the Federal Register on Wednesday, June 3, 2020 (Vol. 85, No. 107). 
The notice, which was located on pages 34174 and 34175, stated that the 
AWTS was considering the addition of questions related to the impact 
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had on firms for survey year 2020. 
After internal discussions, the Census Bureau decided it will not 
include COVID-19 questions on the AWTS.
    The AWTS serves as a benchmark for the estimates produced from the 
Census Bureau's Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey (MWTS) [OMB No. 0607-
0190].
    Externally, the BEA uses the data to estimate the change in the 
private inventories component of gross domestic product (GDP) and 
output in both the benchmark and annual input-output (I-O) accounts and 
the GDP by industry statistics. This agency also utilizes the sales tax 
information to prepare estimates of GDP by industry and to derive 
industry output for the I-O accounts. The data on detailed operating 
expenses 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 (BLS) utilizes the data as an input 
to its producer price indices and in developing productivity 
measurements.
    Other government agencies, researchers, and businesses also use the 
data for a variety of reasons. For example, private businesses utilize 
the estimates in computing business activity indices. Additionally, the 
AWTS data are used to conduct economic market analysis, forecast future 
demand, and evaluate company performance.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: The Census Bureau conducts this survey under the

[[Page 55821]]

authority of Title 13, United States Code, Sections 131 and 182. 
Sections 224 and 225 make this survey mandatory.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0607-0195.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-19987 Filed 9-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P