[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 193 (Thursday, October 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60642-60643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21721]


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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; Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey

AGENCY: 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 extension of the Monthly Wholesale Trade 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 December 5, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference Monthly Wholesale 
Trade Survey in the subject line of your comments. You may also submit 
comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2022-0016, 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 Rebecca Weaver, Chief, Wholesale Indicator Branch, Economic 
Indicators Division, 301-763-9538, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey (MWTS) provides measures of 
monthly sales, end-of-month inventories, and inventories/sales ratios 
in the United States by selected kinds of business for merchant 
wholesalers, excluding manufacturers' sales branches and offices. 
Estimates from the MWTS 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 full 
Monthly Wholesale Trade Report containing both sales and inventories 
estimates is released approximately 39 days after the close of the 
reference month. Sales and inventories estimates from the MWTS are also 
released as part of the Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales 
(MTIS) report issued approximately 45 days after the close of the 
reference month. The Bureau of Economic Analysis uses this information 
to improve the inventory valuation adjustments applied to estimates of 
the Gross Domestic Product. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses 
the data as input to develop Producer Price Indexes and productivity 
measurements.
    The MWTS sales estimates are also used as an input in the Monthly 
Real Dollar Estimates of Wholesale Sales experimental product, first 
published on September 19, 2022, which is a supplement to the MWTS 
report. The estimates were created from the nominal MWTS sales series 
using product weights developed from existing Census Bureau data 
releases and price indexes from the BLS. Within the report, real dollar 
sales estimates and corresponding residuals are available for Total 
Merchant Wholesalers, except Manufacturers' Sales Branches and Offices, 
as well as the two 3-digit and eighteen 4-digit North American Industry 
Classification System (NAICS) wholesale subsectors. Monthly estimates 
are available from January 2012 forward.
    Estimates produced from the MWTS are based on a probability sample 
and are published on the NAICS basis. The sample design consists of 
small, medium, and large cases requested to report sales and 
inventories each month. The sample, consisting of about 4,200 wholesale 
businesses, is drawn 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''. New employer businesses identified in the 
Business and Professional Classification Survey are added and employer 
businesses determined to be no longer active are removed.

II. Method of Collection

    Respondents are initially contacted primarily by email, with a 
small subset receiving a form by mail. After initial contact, non-
respondents are contacted by email and/or telephone follow-up. We 
collect the data primarily by internet. We collect a small portion of 
the data by mail, telephone follow-up, and fax.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0190.
    Form Number(s): SM4217-A and SM4217-E.
    Type of Review: Regular submission. Request for an Extension, 
without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection.

[[Page 60643]]

    Affected Public: U.S. merchant wholesale firms, excluding 
manufacturers' sales branches and office.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,200.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 7 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 5,880 hours.
    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: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 131 and 182.

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. 2022-21721 Filed 10-5-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P