[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45885-45886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15186]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and 
Orders (M3) 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 18, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference Manufacturers' 
Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey in the subject line of 
your comments. You may also submit comments, identified by Docket 
Number USBC-2023-0004 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 Carol Aristone, U.S. Census Bureau, Economic

[[Page 45886]]

Indicators Division, (301) 763-7062, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The U.S. Census Bureau plans to request an extension of the current 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of the Manufacturers' 
Shipments, Inventories and Orders (M3) survey. The M3 survey requests 
data monthly from domestic manufacturers on form M-3 (SD). Data 
requested are shipments, new orders, unfilled orders, total inventory, 
materials and supplies, work-in-process, and finished goods.
    The M3 survey is designed to measure current industrial activity 
and to provide an indication of future production commitments. The 
value of shipments measures the value of goods delivered during the 
month by domestic manufacturers. Estimates of new orders serve as an 
indicator of future production commitments and represent the current 
sales value of new orders received during the month, net of 
cancellations. Substantial accumulation or depletion of unfilled orders 
measures excess or deficient demand for manufactured products. The 
level of inventories, especially in relation to shipments, is 
frequently used to monitor the business cycle, by calculating the 
inventories to sales ratio. In general, a low ratio indicates strong 
shipments. A high ratio indicates weaker shipments or accumulation of 
inventories in stock.
    In October 2021, we accelerated total manufacturing and the 
nondurable manufacturing aggregate estimates to the same time as the 
Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories 
and Orders by creating an advance high-level report of total 
manufacturing. This exception to the normal procedure was initially 
approved by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in September 2021 and 
has been subsequently extended annually through means of a separately 
submitted memo. This exception has permitted the public release of 
preliminary monthly data on shipments and inventories of total 
manufacturing under the provisions of the OMB's Statistical Policy 
Directive No. 3 on the Compilation, Release and Evaluation of Principal 
Federal Economic Indicators. The Census Bureau will request that 
provisions for the early release of total manufacturing shipments and 
inventories be included in the clearance, thereby eliminating the need 
for a separate annual re-approval from OMB for the early release. 
Currently, the Advance report on Durable goods is available 
approximately 18 working days after each month, with the Full report 
available approximately 23 working days after each month. Accelerating 
the nondurable release provides data users with early access to total 
manufacturing estimates ahead of the Full Report, giving them an early 
snapshot of the direction of this critical indicator. Additionally, in 
September 2024 we plan to include additional nondurable goods industry 
level data, to provide more detail estimates at the advance time.

II. Method of Collection

    Respondents may submit the form via mail, fax, or the internet. We 
send emails and make telephone calls to respondents to remind them to 
report on time.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0008.
    Form Number(s): M-3 (SD).
    Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for an Extension of a 
Currently Approved Collection.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 5,000 respondents filing a total 
of 60,000 reports a year.
    Estimated Time per Response: 20 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 20,000.
    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: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 131, 182, and 193.

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. 2023-15186 Filed 7-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P