[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 136 (Monday, July 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42796-42797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15247]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

[Docket No. BTS-2022-XXXX]


Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information 
Collection: Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) Initiative

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of information collection.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, BTS 
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its 
review and approval and invites public comment. BTS is also requesting 
an emergency approval for the pilot effort to develop a proof of 
concept for this collection as described below. BTS is requesting OMB 
approval for the emergency aspect of the collection within 7 days.

DATES: Comments regarding the pilot effort of this collection should be 
submitted within 5 days. All other comments should be submitted within 
60 calendar days from the date of this publication.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the pilot effort of this collection 
should be submitted directly to the Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, 725--17th Street NW, Washington, DC 
20503, Attention: BTS Desk Officer, by email at 
[email protected]. All

[[Page 42797]]

other comments may be submitted using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. The Federal 
eRulemaking Portal is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. 
You can obtain electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines 
under the ``FAQ'' section of the Federal eRulemaking Portal website.
     Mail: Dockets Operations; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC, 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 
E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number. Note that all comments received will be posted without 
change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov, and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the docket, or go to the street 
address listed above.
    Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits 
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT 
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information 
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the 
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Demetra V. Collia, Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Research and Technology, USDOT, RTS-35, E36-302, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001, by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) Project.
    OMB Control Number: Not yet known.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Estimated Time per Response: 26.5 hours.
    Expiration Date: Not yet known.
    Affected Public: Businesses in the freight industry.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 21 for pilot effort and up to 200 
during the first three years of the program.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 556.5 hours for pilot effort and 
5,300 thereafter.
    Abstract: Over the past several years, the U.S. supply chain has 
struggled with unprecedented congestion under COVID-induced surges of 
containerized cargo through our ports and intermodal networks. In March 
of this year, the White House announced the launch of the Freight 
Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) initiative with the Department of 
Transportation and the freight industry to facilitate a collaboration 
and sharing of intermodal trade data. This collaboration would help 
improve supply chain efficiencies and reduce overall costs to U.S. 
consumers. The FLOW initiative builds on previous work by the 
Administration's Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to ensure the 
expeditious movement of cargo from ship to shelf.
    FLOW is a joint endeavor between the United States Department of 
Transportation (USDOT) and the freight industry aimed at improving key 
freight information exchange between parts of the goods movement supply 
chain. Data collected and exchanged will support industry collaborative 
demand management (CDM) decision making associated with the daily 
management of cargo and assets. Companies participating in FLOW will 
voluntarily submit relevant data; there is no regulatory requirement to 
submit such data.
    Industry partners involved with FLOW, referred to as FLOW 
participants, include beneficial cargo owners (BCOs), ocean carriers, 
non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOs), ports and terminals, motor 
carriers, railroads, intermodal equipment providers (IEPs), and 
warehousers. It is expected that the practice of sharing operational 
information between FLOW participants will be a source of significant 
benefit to the operation of the national logistics system, i.e., the 
complex collection of personnel, transportation assets, vessels, 
trucks, railcars, equipment, and any and all other freight components 
that comprise the United States' supply chain system.
    The first phase of the FLOW initiative is a pilot effort to develop 
a proof-of-concept information exchange and operationalize it to 
support industry decision-making. During the pilot phase, the 
initiative will focus on the flow of goods to and from a limited number 
of terminals (e.g., ports) and involve 21 participating companies. 
Following completion of the pilot, the program is expected to grow to 
include additional terminals and companies.
    Data collected under this initiative is necessary to support the 
Administration's directive to identify and operationalize an 
information exchange to support a more resilient and fluid supply 
chain. Data will be submitted by participating companies via a secure 
online portal. Data submitted will include purchase order forecasts, 
cargo bookings, vessels in-transit, marine terminal space availability, 
drayage truck dispatch capacity, over-the-road truck dispatch capacity, 
chassis availability, and warehouse capacity. These data will be used 
to create an index of demand over capacity that is expected to act as a 
leading indicator of freight congestion and supply chain performance. 
The index, which will help communicate the degree of oversupply or 
undersupply of logistics assets, is intended to support a data driven 
approach to balance U.S. cargo traffic demand with system capacity.
    Data Confidentiality Provisions: Data collected under the FLOW 
initiative may contain confidential business information. The 
confidentiality of these data will be protected under the Confidential 
Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) of 2018 
(Title III of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 
2018, Pub. L. 115-435, codified in 44 U.S.C. ch. 35). In accordance 
with CIPSEA, FLOW data will be used exclusively for statistical 
purposes and will not be disclosed in identifiable form except with the 
informed consent of the respondent.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the performance of BTS's functions; (2) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for BTS to enhance the 
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information. Comments received after the comment closing 
date will be included in the docket and will be considered to the 
extent practicable.

Demetra V. Collia,
Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant Secretary 
for Research and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2022-15247 Filed 7-15-22; 8:45 am]
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