[Federal Register: August 30, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 168)]
[Notices]
[Page 51569-51570]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30au06-44]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
DOC will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under
the
[[Page 51570]]
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
Title: Survey of Plant Capacity Utilization.
Form Number(s): MQ-C1, MQ-C2.
Agency Approval Number: 0607-0175.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Burden: 74,250 hours.
Number of Respondents: MQ-C1--17,000; MQ-C2--6,000.
Avg. Hours per Response: MQ-C1--2.25 hours; MQ-C2--1.5 hours.
Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests a revision of
approval for the Survey of Plant Capacity Utilization (SPC). The
current survey is conducted annually and collects fourth quarter
production data. The survey provides information on use of industrial
capacity in manufacturing and publishing plants as defined by the North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS). It is the only source
of capacity rates at the 6-digit NAICS industry levels.
Changes in capacity utilization are considered important indicators
of investment demand and inflationary pressure. For these reasons, the
estimates of capacity utilization are closely monitored by government
and private policy makers.
The annual survey (MQ-C1) collects the value of fourth quarter
production and the value of production that could have been achieved if
operating under ``full production'' and ``emergency production''
levels. The ratios of the actual to the full and emergency production
levels are the basis of the estimates of capacity utilization. The
survey also collects information by shift, on work patterns at actual
production and full production levels.
With support from the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), the Census
Bureau is requesting approval to collect capacity utilization data on a
quarterly basis in addition to the annual collection. Response to the
quarterly survey (MQ-C2) would be voluntary. Response to the annual
survey is mandatory. The quarterly survey would collect a subset of the
data collected on the annual survey.
The FRB is the primary user of the current SPC data and have
expressed the need for these quarterly data. The FRB publishes measures
of industrial production (IP) that are either estimated from physical
product data or estimated from monthly data on inputs to the production
process, specifically production worker hours and an indicator of
capital input. For many years, data on electric power use was used as
the indicator of industry capital input. The deregulation of
electricity markets led to the deterioration in the coverage and
quality of the electricity data.
As a result, in November 2005, the FRB discontinued its use of the
industrial electric power data in the current estimates of IP. In order
to maintain the quality of the IP index, the collection of these
quarterly utilization data, such as the workweek of capital, become
critical indicators of capital input use and industry output.
The FRB will use these data in several ways. First, the capital
workweek data will be used as an indicator of capital use in the
estimation of monthly output (IP). Second, the workweek data will also
be used to improve the projections of labor productivity that are used
to align IP with comprehensive benchmark information in the Economic
Census covering the Manufacturing sector and Annual Survey of
Manufactures. Third, the utilization rate data will assist in the
assessment of recent changes in IP, as most of the high-frequency
movement in utilization rates reflect production changes rather than
capacity changes.
The Defense Logistics Agency uses the data to assess readiness to
meet demand for goods under selected national emergency scenarios.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
Frequency: MQ-C1--Annually; MQ-C2--Quarterly.
Respondent's Obligation: MQ-C1--Mandatory; MQ-C2--Voluntary.
Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 182 and 225.
OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, room 6625, 14th and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at
dhynek@doc.gov).
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice
to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) or e-
mail (susan_schechter@omb.eop.gov).
Dated: August 24, 2006.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-14359 Filed 8-29-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P