Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 241 / Monday, December 18, 2023 / Notices 87401 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means of communication for 

program information (e.g., Braille, large 

print, audiotape, American Sign 

Language, etc.) should contact the 

responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET 

Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and 

TTY) or contact USDA through the 

Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339. 

Additionally, program information may 

be made available in languages other 

than English. 

Equal opportunity practices in 

accordance with USDA’s policies will 

be followed in all appointments to the 

Board. To ensure that the 

recommendations of the Board have 

taken in account the needs of the 

diverse groups served by USDA, 

membership shall include to the extent 

possible, individuals with demonstrated 

ability to represent minorities, women 

and persons with disabilities. USDA is 

an equal opportunity provider, 

employer, and lender. 

Dated: December 12, 2023. 

Cikena Reid, 

USDA Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27669 Filed 12–15–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

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 Survey 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, on or after the date of publication 

of this notice. We invite 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. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on July 18, 

2023, during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau, 

Department of Commerce. 

Title: Manufacturers’ Shipments, 

Inventories, and Orders Survey. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0008. 

Form Number(s): M–3(SD). 

Type of Request: Regular submission, 

Request for an Extension, without 

Change, of a Currently Approved 

Collection. 

Number of Respondents: 5,000. 

Average Hours per Response: 20 

minutes. 

Burden Hours: 20,000. 

Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census 

Bureau is requesting an extension of the 

currently approved collection for the 

Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, 

and Orders (M3) survey. This survey 

collects monthly data from domestic 

manufacturers on Form M–3 (SD), 

which is mailed at the end of each 

month. Data requested are shipments, 

new orders, unfilled orders, and 

inventories by stage of fabrication. It is 

currently the only survey that provides 

broad-based monthly statistical data on 

the economic conditions in the 

domestic manufacturing sector. The 

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 backlogs 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. 

The M3 survey has been conducted 

monthly by the U.S. Census Bureau 

since 1957. The Advance Report on 

Durable Goods, Manufacturers’ 

Shipments, Inventories and Orders is an 

advance snapshot of the current value of 

manufacturing in the U.S. It is available 

about 18 working days after each month. 

The M3 survey also produces the Full 

Report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, 

Inventories and Orders. This report 

details information on the durable goods 

industries and includes the non-durable 

goods industries. In addition, the Full 

Report captures late receipts, and is 

available about 23 working days after 

each month. 

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 the 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 requests that 

provisions for the early release of total 

manufacturing shipments and 

inventories be included in this 

clearance, thereby eliminating the need 

for a separate memo requesting annual 

re-approval from OMB for the early 

release. 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 detailed estimates at the advance 

time. 

The M3 survey provides an essential 

component of the current economic 

indicators needed for assessing the 

evolving status of the economy and 

formulating economic policy. The Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(OIRA), Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) has designated this 

survey as a principal federal economic 

indicator. The shipments and 

inventories data are essential inputs to 

the gross domestic product (GDP). The 

orders data are direct inputs to The 

Conference Board Leading Economic 

Index (LEI), which is a composite index 

of ten key elements designed to monitor 

the business cycle (https://

www.conference-board.org/data/

bcicountry.cfm?cid=1). The GDP and the 

LEI would be incomplete without these 

data. Businesses and consumers 

generally place orders for durable goods 

when they are confident the economy is 

improving. A durable goods report 

showing an increase in orders is a sign 

that the economy is trending upwards. 

Durable goods orders tell investors what 

to expect from the manufacturing sector, 

a major component of the economy. The 

M3 survey also provides valuable and 

timely domestic manufacturing data for 

economic planning and analysis to 

business firms, trade associations, 

research and consulting agencies, and 

academia. 

The data are used for analyzing shortand long-term trends, both in the 

manufacturing sector and as related to 

other sectors of the economy. The data 

on the value of shipments, especially 

when adjusted for change in 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
87402 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 241 / Monday, December 18, 2023 / Notices 

inventories, measure current levels of 

production. New orders figures serve as 

an indicator of future production 

commitments. Changes in the level of 

unfilled orders, because of excess or 

shortfall of new orders compared with 

shipments, are used to measure the 

excess (or deficiency) in the demand for 

manufactured products. Changes in the 

level of inventories and the relation of 

these to shipments are used to project 

future movements in manufacturing 

activity. These statistics are valuable for 

analysts of business cycle conditions, 

including members of the Council of 

Economic Advisers (CEA), the Bureau of 

Economic Analysis (BEA), the Federal 

Reserve Board (FRB), the Department of 

the Treasury, The Conference Board, 

business firms, trade associations, 

private research and consulting 

agencies, and the academic community. 

Frequency: Monthly. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Title 13, United 

States Code, Sections 131, 182, and 193. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering either the title of the collection 

or the OMB Control Number 0607–0008. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27722 Filed 12–15–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Census Bureau 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Survey of Housing Starts, 

Sales, and Completions 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, on or after the date of publication 

of this notice. We invite 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. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on August 3, 

2023, during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau, 

Department of Commerce. 

Title: Survey of Housing Starts, Sales, 

and Completions. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0110 

Form Number(s): SOC–QI/SF.1 and 

SOC–QI/MF.1. 

Type of Request: Regular submission, 

request for an extension, without 

change, of a currently approved 

collection. 

Number of Respondents: We collect 

data for approximately 21,363 new 

buildings a year. A builder or owner 

may be contacted several times based on 

how long the construction project takes. 

We estimate the average number of 

times we need to contact the builder or 

owner is between 7 and 8 times. The 

total number of responses annually is 

161,412. 

Average Hours per Response: 5 

minutes. 

Burden Hours: 13,451. 

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). The SOC 

is co-sponsored by the U.S. Census 

Bureau and the U.S. Department of 

Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD). 

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 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 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 

legislation. For example, the Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System uses data from this survey to 

evaluate the effect of interest rates. 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. 

Frequency: Monthly. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: The Census Bureau is 

authorized under title 13, United States 

Code, sections 131 and 182 to collect 

information, and under title 13 section 

8(b) to perform survey work for other 

agencies, including HUD. HUD is 

authorized under title 12 U.S.C., 

sections 1701z–1 and 1701z–2g to 

collect or obtain information on new 

residential buildings. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES