Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 160 / Thursday, August 18, 2011 / Notices 51347 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau. 

Title: Annual Retail Trade Survey. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0013. 

Form Number(s): . SA–44, SA–44A, 

SA–44C, SA–44E, SA–44N, SA–44S, 

SA–45, SA–45C, SA–721A, SA–721B, 

SA–721E, SA–721F, SA–722A and SA– 

722E. 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Burden Hours: 33,416. 

Number of Respondents: 21,775. 

Average Hours per Response: 1 hour 

and 32 minutes. 

Needs and Uses: The Annual Retail 

Trade Survey (ARTS) covers employer 

firms with establishments located in the 

United States and classified in retail 

trade and/or accommodation and food 

services sector as defined by the North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS). The survey requests 

firms to provide annual sales, ecommerce sales, year-end inventories 

held inside and outside the United 

States, total operating expenses, 

purchases, and accounts receivable. We 

also request, for selected industries, 

sales by merchandise line, percent of 

sales by class of customer, and percent 

of e-commerce sales to customers 

located outside the United States. These 

data are collected to provide a sound 

statistical basis for the formation of 

policy by various government agencies, 

as well as to serve as a benchmark for 

the estimates compiled from the 

Monthly Retail Trade Report (OMB No. 

0607–0717). Results will be made 

available, at the United States summary 

level, for selected retail trade, 

accommodation and food services 

industries approximately fifteen months 

after the end of the reference year. 

For the 2011 ARTS the Census Bureau 

will request two years of data to link our 

old and new samples, ensuring that our 

published estimates continue to be 

reliable and accurate. For the 2012 

ARTS the Census Bureau will request 

data on detailed operating expenses. 

These data items were previously 

requested under a separate 

supplemental mailing that was 

conducted every 5 years. The last 

supplemental mailing was conducted in 

conjunction with the 2007 ARTS under 

OMB No. 0607–0942. While the retail 

portion of that program will be 

collapsed into the ARTS, we will 

continue to ask only the additional 

detailed expense questions every 

5 years. 

The Bureau of Economic Analysis 

(BEA) uses the data to estimate the 

change in private inventories 

component of gross domestic product 

(GDP) and output in both the 

benchmark and annual input-output 

(I–O) accounts and GDP by industry. 

Data on sales taxes are also used to 

prepare estimates of GDP by industry 

and to derive industry output for the I– 

O accounts. Data on detailed operating 

expenses, which will now be collected 

on this survey quinquennially, are used 

to produce national estimates of value 

added, gross output, and intermediate 

inputs and serve as a benchmark for the 

annual industry accounts, which 

provide the control totals for the GDPby-state accounts. The Bureau of Labor 

Statistics uses the data as input to its 

Producer Price Indexes and in 

developing productivity measurements. 

Private businesses use the estimates in 

computing business activity indexes. 

Other government agencies and 

businesses use the data to satisfy a 

variety of public and business needs 

such as economic market analysis, 

company performance, and forecasting 

future demands. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., 

Sections 182, 224, and 225. 

OMB Desk Officer: Brian HarrisKojetin, (202) 395–7314. 

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 6616, 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 Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB 

Desk Officer either by fax (202–395– 

7245) or e-mail (bharrisk@omb.eop.gov). 

Dated: August 15, 2011. 

Glenna Mickelson, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2011–21086 Filed 8–17–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau. 

Title: Survey of Housing Starts, Sales, 

and Completions. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0110. 

Form Number(s): SOC–QI/SF.1, SOC– 

QI/MF.1. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Burden Hours: 14,630. 

Number of Respondents: 22,200. 

Average Hours per Response: 

5 minutes. 

Needs and Uses: The U. S. Census 

Bureau is requesting an extension of the 

currently approved collection for the 

Survey of Housing Starts, Sales, and 

Completions, otherwise known as the 

Survey of Construction (SOC). 

Government agencies and private 

companies use statistics from SOC to 

monitor and evaluate the large and 

dynamic housing construction industry. 

Data for two principal economic 

indicators are produced from the SOC: 

New Residential Construction (housing 

starts and housing completions) and 

New Residential Sales. In addition, a 

number of other statistical series are 

produced, including extensive 

information on the physical 

characteristics of new residential 

buildings, and indexes measuring rates 

of inflation in the price of new 

buildings. These statistics are based on 

a sample of residential buildings in 

permit-issuing places and a road 

canvass in a sample of land areas not 

covered by building permit systems. 

Census Bureau field representatives 

(FRs) mail forms SOC–QI/SF.1 and 

SOC–QI/MF.1 to new respondents to 

complete. A few days later, the FRs 

either call or visit the respondents to 

enter their survey responses into a 

laptop computer using the Computer 

Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) 

software. The respondents are home 

builders, real estate agents, rental 

agents, or new homeowners of sampled 

residential buildings. FRs contact 

respondents multiple times based on the 

number of projects in the sample and 

the number of months required to 

complete the project. 

The Census Bureau uses the 

information collected in the SOC to 

publish estimates of the number of new 

residential housing units started, under 

construction, completed, and the 

number of new houses sold and for sale. 

The Census Bureau also publishes many 

financial and physical characteristics of 

new housing units. Government 

agencies use these statistics to evaluate 

economic policy, measure progress 

towards the national housing goal, make 

policy decisions, and formulate 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

51348 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 160 / Thursday, August 18, 2011 / Notices 

legislation. For example, the Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System uses data from this survey to 

evaluate the effect of interest rates in 

this interest-rate sensitive area of the 

economy. The Bureau of Economic 

Analysis uses the data in developing the 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The 

private sector uses the information for 

estimating the demand for building 

materials and the many products used 

in new housing and to schedule 

production, distribution, and sales 

efforts. The financial community uses 

the data to estimate the demand for 

short-term (construction loans) and 

long-term (mortgages) borrowing. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; business or other for-profit. 

Frequency: Monthly. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., 

Sections 131 and 182. 

OMB Desk Officer: Brian HarrisKojetin, (202) 395–7314. 

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 6616, 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 Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB 

Desk Officer either by fax (202–395– 

7245) or e-mail (bharrisk@omb.eop.gov). 

Dated: August 15, 2011. 

Glenna Mickelson, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2011–21138 Filed 8–17–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau. 

Title: Annual Wholesale Trade 

Survey. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0195. 

Form Number(s): Forms SA–42, SA– 

42A, SA–42(MSBO), SA–42A(MSBO), 

SA–42(AGBR), SA–42A(AGBR). 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Burden Hours: 10,442. 

Number of Respondents: 8,176. 

Average Hours per Response: 1 hour 

and 16 minutes. 

Needs and Uses: The Annual 

Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS) covers 

employer firms with establishments 

located in the United States and 

classified in wholesale trade as defined 

by the North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS). This 

sector comprises two main types of 

wholesalers: (1) Merchant wholesalers 

that sell goods on their own account 

(including sales offices and sales 

branches, except retail stores, 

maintained by manufacturing, refining, 

or mining enterprises apart from their 

plants or mines for the purpose of 

marketing their products) and (2) 

business to business electronic markets, 

agents, and brokers that arrange sales for 

purchases for others generally for a 

commission or fee. 

Respondents are separated into three 

classifications: (1) Merchant wholesale 

establishments, excluding 

manufacturers’ sales branches and 

offices; (2) manufacturers’ sales 

branches and offices; and (3) agents, 

brokers, and business to business 

electronic markets. The first 

classification is asked to provide sales, 

e-commerce, inventories, method of 

inventory valuation, inventories held 

outside the United States, purchases, 

and operating expenses. The second 

classification is asked to provide sales, 

e-commerce, inventories, method of 

inventory valuation, inventories held 

outside the United States, and operating 

expenses. The third classification is 

asked to provide commissions, sales on 

their own account, and operating 

expenses. These data are collected to 

provide a sound statistical basis for the 

formation of policy by various 

government agencies, as well as to serve 

as a benchmark for the estimates 

compiled from the Monthly Wholesale 

Trade Survey (OMB No. 0607–0190). 

Results will be made available, at the 

United States summary level, for 

selected wholesale industries 

approximately fourteen months after the 

end of the reference year. 

For the 2011 AWTS the Census 

Bureau will request two years of data to 

link our old and new samples, ensuring 

that our published estimates continue to 

be reliable and accurate. For the 2012 

AWTS the Census Bureau will request 

data on detailed operating expenses. 

These data items were previously 

requested under a separate 

supplemental mailing that was 

conducted every 5 years. The last 

supplemental mailing was conducted in 

conjunction with the 2007 AWTS under 

OMB No. 0607–0942. While the 

wholesale portion of that program will 

be collapsed into the AWTS, we will 

continue to ask only the additional 

detailed expense questions every 5 

years. These detailed expense questions 

are only applicable to the merchant 

wholesale establishments, excluding 

manufacturers’ sales branches and 

offices. Additionally, the 2012 AWTS 

will collect data on sales taxes, which 

is done once every 5 years. 

The Bureau of Economic Analysis 

(BEA) uses the data to estimate the 

change in private inventories 

component of gross domestic product 

(GDP) and output in both the 

benchmark and annual input-output (I– 

O) accounts and GDP by industry. Data 

on sales taxes, which are collected on 

this survey quinquennially, are also 

used to prepare estimates of GDP by 

industry and to derive industry output 

for the I–O accounts. Data on detailed 

operating expenses, which will now be 

collected on this survey quinquennially, 

are used to produce national estimates 

of value added, gross output, and 

intermediate inputs and serve as a 

benchmark for the annual industry 

accounts, which provide the control 

totals for the GDP-by-state accounts. The 

Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the data 

as input to its Producer Price Indexes 

and in developing productivity 

measurements. Private businesses use 

the estimates in computing business 

activity indexes. Other government 

agencies and businesses use the data to 

satisfy a variety of public and business 

needs such as economic market 

analysis, company performance, and 

forecasting future demands. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., 

Sections 182, 224, and 225. 

OMB Desk Officer: Brian HarrisKojetin, (202) 395–7314. 

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 6616, 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 Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB 

Desk Officer either by fax (202–395– 

7245) or e-mail (bharrisk@omb.eop.gov). 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES