[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 139 (Friday, July 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38977-38978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15681]


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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; Commodity Flow Survey (CFS)

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites 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. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the 
proposed reinstatement, with change, of the Commodity Flow Survey, 
prior to the submission of the information collection request (ICR) to 
OMB for approval.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before September 21, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference Commodity Flow 
Survey in the subject line of your comments. You may also submit 
comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2021-0017, to the Federal e-
Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received 
are part of the public record. No comments will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the comment period 
has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. All 
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic 
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Berin Linfors, Branch Chief, at 301-763-5366 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 38978]]

I. Abstract

    The Commodity Flow Survey, a component of the 2022 Economic Census, 
is the only comprehensive and publicly available source of multimodal, 
system-wide data on the volume and pattern of goods movements in the 
United States. The Commodity Flow Survey is conducted in partnership 
with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Research and Technology, U.S. Department of 
Transportation.
    The Commodity Flow Survey data are used by policy makers and 
transportation planners in various federal, state, and local agencies 
to assess the demand for transportation facilities and services, energy 
use, safety risks, and environmental concerns. Additionally, business 
owners, private researchers, and analysts use the Commodity Flow Survey 
data for analyzing trends in the movement of goods, mapping spatial 
patterns of commodity and vehicle flows, forecasting demands for the 
movement of goods, and determining the needs for associated 
infrastructure and equipment.
    The survey provides data on the movement of commodities in the 
United States from their origin to destination. The survey produces 
summary statistics on value, tons, ton-miles and average miles by 
commodity, industry, and mode of transportation. The Census Bureau will 
publish these shipment characteristics for the nation, census regions 
and divisions, states, and CFS defined geographical areas.
    Primary strategies for reducing respondent burden in the Commodity 
Flow Survey include: Employing a stratified random sample of business 
establishments, requesting data on a limited sample of shipment records 
from each establishment with the option to provide all shipments in the 
week, accepting estimates of shipping activity, applying machine 
learning to code products based on their descriptions, providing 
electronic reporting and including the option for consolidated 
reporting of multiple locations through a single login for larger 
companies.

II. Method of Collection

    The Commodity Flow Survey will be conducted on a sample of business 
establishments classified in mining, manufacturing, wholesale, and 
select retail and services industries, as defined by the North American 
Industry Classification System (NAICS). The survey will also cover 
auxiliary establishments (i.e., warehouses and managing offices) of 
multi-establishment companies. Each selected establishment will be 
surveyed four times, once during each calendar quarter of 2022. 
Quarters one and four will include a supplement with questions on 
hazardous materials packaging for companies that ship hazardous 
materials. Each questionnaire will ask the establishment to report data 
for up to 100 shipments for a predetermined reporting week. These data 
will include the value, net weight, commodity, and origin and 
destination of each selected shipment. Survey responses will be 
collected electronically, and respondents will have the option to 
provide all shipments for the reporting week instead of sampling 
shipments.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0932.
    Form Number(s): CFS 1000 (2022).
    Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for a Reinstatement, 
with Change, of a Previously Approved Collection.
    Affected Public: Business and other for-profit, small businesses or 
organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 160,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2.5 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,600,000.
    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 8(b), 131 and 193; Title 
49 U.S.C., Section 6302.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our 
request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-15681 Filed 7-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P