[Federal Register: May 25, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 101)]
[Notices]
[Page 29689-29690]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25my04-28]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of the Census
[Docket Number 040510146-4146-01]
Annual Survey of Manufacturers
AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of consideration and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) plans to reduce the
number of individual 6-digit North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS) industries for which the Annual Survey of Manufacturers
(ASM) estimates are published. We will continue to publish estimates
for all manufacturing industries at higher levels of industry
aggregation. By doing this, we hope to improve the timeliness of the
estimates we produce as well as enhance the reliability and relevance
of variables we collect.
We are replacing the current 473 6-digit NAICS industries with a
new list of 318 ASM industries, which will include selected 6-digit
NAICS industries and other industries defined as groups of the 6-digit
NAICS industries. Six-digit industries are the most detailed defined by
the NAICS. The lists of present and proposed industries along with the
concordance are available on our Web site at http://www.census.gov/mcd/asmchange/
.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be submitted on or before
June 24, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to the Director, U.S. Census
Bureau, Room 2049, Federal Building 3, Washington, DC 20233.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judy M. Dodds, Assistant Division
Chief, Census and Related Programs, Manufacturing and Construction
Division, on (301) 763-4587 or by e-mail at judy.m.dodds@census.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Census Bureau is authorized to conduct
surveys necessary to furnish current data on subjects covered by the
major censuses authorized by title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.),
sections 182, 224, and 225. Reporting by ASM establishments will
continue to be mandatory and provide continuing and timely national
statistical data on the manufacturing sector. Data collected in this
survey will be within the general scope, type, and character of those
inquiries covered in the Economic Census.
The ASM collects industry statistics, such as total value of
shipments, employment, payroll, workers' hours, capital expenditures,
cost of materials consumed, supplemental labor costs, and so forth.
This survey, conducted on a sample basis, covers all manufacturing
industries, including data on plants under construction, but not yet in
operation.
[[Page 29690]]
Beginning with the survey year 2003, the Census Bureau plans to
reduce the number of detailed industries for which the ASM estimates
are published. Reducing the level of detail for which characteristics
are estimated will allow the Census Bureau to focus resources on
improving other aspects of the ASM program. We believe that this
reduction in ASM detail will not have a substantial adverse impact upon
the public. While some industry detail will be lost for ASM, similar
data for some of the variables are available from other sources, such
as County Business Patterns or programs of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The ASM is conducted as a mail-out/mail-back survey. No
changes in the collection of information are planned as a result of
this proposal.
Published estimates from the ASM are used by a variety of private
business and trade associations. They provide various governmental
agencies with a tool to evaluate economic policy and to measure
progress toward established goals. For example, Bureau of Economic
Analysis staff use data to develop nonresidential fixed investment
components of gross private domestic investment in the gross domestic
product. The Federal Reserve Board uses the data to estimate indexes of
production, which are presented to the Board of Governors and have an
impact on monetary policy.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required
to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure
to comply with, a collection of information subject to requirements of
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), unless that collection of
information displays a current valid Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) control number. In accordance with the PRA, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35,
the OMB approved the current ASM under OMB Control Number 0607-0449.
The total burden hours associated with OMB Control Number 0607-0449 are
187,000 hours. We will provide copies of each form upon written request
to the Director, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC 20233-0001.
Dated: May 19, 2004.
Charles Louis Kincannon,
Director, Bureau of the Census.
[FR Doc. 04-11763 Filed 5-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P