[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26256-26259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09390]



[[Page 26256]]

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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0035]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for 
Comment; Consolidated Labeling Requirements for 49 CFR Part 541 and 
Procedures for Selecting Lines To Be Covered by the Theft Prevention 
Standard for 49 CFR Part 542

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a reinstatement of a 
previously approved information collection.

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

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
summarized below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICR describes the nature of 
the information collections and their expected burden for consolidated 
labeling requirements and procedures for selecting lines to be covered 
by the Theft Prevention Standard. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-
day comment period for approval of a reinstatement of this previously 
approved information collection was published on January 12, 2022. The 
agency received no comments.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 2, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection, including suggestions for reducing burden, 
should be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget at 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. To find this particular information 
collection, select ``Currently under Review--Open for Public Comment'' 
or use the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Carlita Ballard at the National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of International Policy, 
Fuel Economy and Consumer Programs (NRM-310), 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE, West Building, Room W43-439, Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Ballard's 
telephone number is (202) 366-5222. Please identify the relevant 
collection of information by referring to its OMB Control Number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), a 
Federal agency must receive approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) before it collects certain information from the public and 
a person is not required to respond to a collection of information by a 
Federal agency unless the collection displays a valid OMB control 
number. In compliance with these requirements, this notice announces 
that the following information collection request will be submitted to 
OMB.
    A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
public comments on the following information collection was published 
on January 12, 2022 (87 FR 1833). The agency received no comments.
    Title: Consolidated Labeling Requirements for 49 CFR part 541 and 
Procedures for Selecting Lines to be Covered by the Theft Prevention 
Standard for 49 CFR part 542.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0539.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information 
collection.
    Type of Review Requested: Regular.
    Length of Approval Requested: Three years.
    Summary of the Collection of Information: 49 U.S.C. Chapter 331 
requires the Secretary of Transportation, and NHTSA by delegation, to 
promulgate a theft prevention standard to provide for the 
identification of certain motor vehicles and their major replacement 
parts (parts-marking) to impede motor vehicle theft. NHTSA's theft 
prevention standard at 49 CFR part 541 specifies performance 
requirements for identifying numbers or symbols (generally the vehicle 
identification number (VIN)) to be placed on major parts of all 
passenger vehicles subject to the theft prevention standard. In 1984, 
Congress enacted the Motor Vehicle Theft Law Enforcement Act (The Theft 
Act) directing NHTSA to issue a theft prevention standard requiring 
vehicle manufacturers to mark the major parts of high-theft lines of 
passenger motor vehicles. (Pub. L. 98-547.) In 1992, Congress enacted 
the Anti Car Theft Act (Pub. L. 102-519, codified at 49 U.S.C. chapter 
331), which expanded the parts-marking requirement to include 
multipurpose passenger vehicles and certain light duty trucks. In a 
final rule published on April 6, 2004 (69 FR 17960), the Federal Motor 
Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard was extended to include all passenger 
cars and, multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight 
rating (GVWR) of 6,000 pounds or less, all light-duty trucks (LDTs) 
determined to be high-theft (with a gross vehicle weight rating of 
6,000 pounds or less) and all low-theft LDTs with major parts that are 
interchangeable with a majority of the covered major parts of those 
passenger motor vehicle lines subject to the theft prevention standard. 
The five information collections are: (1) The requirement to mark major 
parts of covered motor vehicles; (2) the requirement to submit to NHTSA 
target areas showing where the parts will be marked; (3) the 
requirement that manufacturers maintain the designated target areas for 
the duration of the production of the vehicle line; (4) the requirement 
for manufacturers of new LDT lines to submit information to NHTSA to 
allow the agency to determine whether the LDT line will be required to 
comply with the parts-marking requirements because it is likely to be a 
high theft line; and (5) the requirement for manufacturers of new LDT 
lines to submit information to NHTSA to allow the agency to determine 
the LDT will be required to comply with the parts-marking requirements 
because it contains major parts that are interchangeable with the 
majority of the covered major parts of passenger motor vehicles covered 
by the standard. Each of the information collections are describe in 
more detail below.
    49 CFR Part 541--Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard: 
The Theft Act requires specified parts of high-theft vehicles to be 
marked with vehicle identification numbers (parts-marking). Part 541 
specifies performance requirements for identifying numbers or symbols 
to be placed on major parts of certain passenger motor vehicles to 
reduce the incidence of motor vehicle thefts through tracing and 
recovery of parts from stolen vehicles. All passenger cars and 
multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 
6,000 pounds or less, and light duty trucks with major parts that are 
interchangeable with the majority of the covered major parts of 
passenger motor vehicles covered by the standard are required to be 
parts-marked. Each major component part must be either labeled or 
affixed with the VIN and its replacement component part must be marked 
with the ``DOT'' symbol, the letter ``R'' and the manufacturers' logo. 
For each vehicle line, manufacturers must inform NHTSA of the location 
of the VIN marking on each part (target area) and the location of the 
VIN marking for the replacement part. This information is publicly 
available to aid law enforcement personnel in tracing stolen vehicles 
and their parts. In addition, the manufacturer must maintain the target 
area designated for

[[Page 26257]]

a part on a vehicle line for the duration of the production of the 
vehicle line, unless a restyling of the part makes it no longer 
practicable to mark within the original target area.
    49 CFR Part 542--Procedures for Selecting Light Duty Truck Lines to 
be Covered by the Theft Prevention Standard: Manufacturers of light 
duty trucks must identify new model introductions that are likely to be 
high-theft vehicle lines as defined in 49 U.S.C. 33104. The specific 
vehicle lines are to be selected by agreement between the manufacturer 
and the agency. NHTSA's procedures for selecting high-theft vehicle 
lines are contained in 49 CFR part 542. Manufacturers use the criteria 
in Appendix C of part 541 to evaluate new lines and determine whether 
the new line is likely to be high theft. Next, the manufacturers submit 
their evaluations and conclusions, together with the underlying factual 
information, to NHTSA at least 15 months before introduction of the 
vehicle line into U.S. commerce.

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information

    49 CFR Part 541: The identification of major parts of high theft 
motor vehicle lines is designed to decrease automobile theft by making 
it more difficult for criminals to ``chop'' vehicles into component 
parts and then fence such parts. The information would aid law 
enforcement officials at all levels of Government in the investigation 
of ``chop shops'' by creating evidence for prosecution of the operators 
for possession of stolen motor vehicle parts. Officials have great 
difficulty in establishing that particular parts in the possession of a 
``chop shop'' are in fact stolen when the parts are not marked. 
Operators of both ``chop shops'' and auto body repair shops would avoid 
possession of parts bearing identification that links the parts to a 
stolen vehicle. Also, stolen parts, when recovered, could not easily be 
traced back to the proper owner and returned to the owner or insurer if 
the parts were not marked. Congress intended for major parts 
identification to decrease the market for stolen parts and, therefore, 
decrease the incentive for motor vehicle theft.
    49 CFR Part 542: Manufacturers of light duty trucks must identify 
new model introductions that are likely to be high-theft vehicle lines 
as defined in 49 U.S.C. 33104. Because the specific vehicle lines are 
to be selected by agreement between the manufacturer and NHTSA, the 
agency could not perform its statutory requirement without the 
information provided by the manufacturers.

60-Day Notice

    A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
public comments on the following information collection was published 
on January 12, 2022 (87 FR 1833). NHTSA received no comments.
    Affected Public: Motor vehicle manufacturers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 21.
    There are approximately 21 manufacturers that are required to 
comply with the parts marking requirements of part 541 each year and 
submit information on target areas to NHTSA. For the information 
collections contained in part 542, NHTSA estimates that there are 
currently 7 manufacturers of LDTs that could be subject to the parts-
marking requirements. However, these manufacturers are not required to 
submit information every year. Instead, these manufacturers would only 
need to submit information under part 542 before they introduce a new 
LDT line. Because NHTSA estimates that it will only receive one 
submission under section 542.1 and one submission under section 542.2 
in each of the next three years, NHTSA estimates there will only be one 
respondent to these information collections annually.
    Frequency: On Occasion.
    Manufacturers comply with the parts-marking requirements when they 
manufacture new vehicles. Manufacturers submit new target area 
information when they introduce new vehicle lines or make changes to 
existing vehicle lines that require changes to where parts are marked. 
Manufacturers only submit information under part 542 when they 
introduce new LDT lines.
    Number of Responses: 1.
    For the five information collections in part 541 and part 542, 
NHTSA estimates the annual number of responses as follows: (1) 4.5 
million for the parts-marking requirement; (2) 23 for submissions of 
target area information; (3) 23 for maintaining of target area 
information; (4) 1 for reporting on whether a LDT line is likely to be 
high-theft; and (5) 1 for reporting on whether a LDT line shares 
interchangeable parts with a high theft line subject to the parts-
marking requirements.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 150,550.
    49 CFR Part 541: The agency estimates that, based on the most 
currently available data, there has been a decrease in the production 
of vehicles requiring parts-marking from 8 million vehicles to 
approximately 4.5 million for all manufacturers. To calculate the 
burden associated with the parts marking requirement, NHTSA assumes 
that manufacturers will use the least burdensome method for complying 
with the requirement, based on historical practice and the agency's 
current understanding of how manufacturers fit labeling into the 
vehicle assembly line. For the antitheft requirement, the cost of 
labeling the major parts (i.e., a paper label with the VIN is placed on 
each major part) is less than the cost of stamping the VIN on each 
major part with a stamping machine.
    To meet the Theft Prevention Standard, the agency estimates that 
the time to number and affix the average of 14 labels to each vehicle 
is approximately 2 minutes. If 4.5 million vehicles are covered, the 
hourly burden for labeling 4.5 million motor vehicles would be 150,000 
hours (4.5 million cars x 2 minutes per car / 60 minutes in an hour).
    The agency estimates that the time to stamp both the engine and 
transmission will take approximately 1 minute. If 4.5 million vehicles 
are covered, the total burden for stamping is estimated to total 75,000 
hours (4.5 million cars x 1 minute per car / 60 minutes in an hour). 
Please note that in this analysis each vehicle would either have its 
major parts labeled or stamped, but not both. As discussed above, since 
affixing paper labels is estimated to be cost less for manufacturers, 
NHTSA has estimated the burden of the parts marking requirements using 
the estimates for affixing paper labels. Therefore, NHTSA estimates the 
total burden for parts-marking to be 150,000 hours annually.
    Each manufacturer of vehicles that are required to be parts-marked 
must submit reports of the target area locations for the labels or 
stamping. The target area designated for a part on a vehicle line shall 
be maintained for the duration of the production of the vehicle line, 
unless a restyling of the part makes it no longer practicable to mark 
within the original target area. If there is such a restyling, the 
vehicle manufacturer shall inform NHTSA of that fact and provide a new 
target area submission. NHTSA estimates that there is no additional 
hour burden to maintain the target area designation because maintaining 
the designation is built into the production process of a new vehicle 
line and the record of the target designation is kept electronically in 
the normal course of business.
    NHTSA estimates that approximately 70 target area responses will be 
submitted to the agency in the next three years, or approximately 23

[[Page 26258]]

submissions each year. This estimate is based on the number of the 
submissions over the three-year period for MYs 2019-2021. Specifically, 
18, 29 and 23 target areas were submitted for MYs 2019, 2020 and 2021, 
respectively. Due to the decreased production of vehicles requiring 
parts-marking, the agency estimates on an average, there will be a 
total of 23 target areas submitted by approximately 21 manufacturers. 
The average time to prepare and submit the target areas is estimated to 
be 20 hours for each submission. The burden hour for submissions will 
be 460 hours (23 submissions x 20 hours).
    NHTSA estimates the labor cost associated with this collection of 
information by (1) applying the appropriate average hourly labor rate 
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), (2) dividing by 
0.702 \1\ (70.2%), for private industry workers to obtain the total 
cost of compensation, and (3) multiplying by the estimated burden hours 
for each respondent type. NHTSA estimates the labor costs associated 
with preparing and affixing labels to 14 major parts under Sec.  
541.5(a) using the average wage for manufacturers and assemblers in the 
motor vehicle manufacturing industry (Standard Occupational 
Classification #51-2000), which BLS estimates to be $23.18 \2\ per 
hour. Using this estimate, NHTSA estimates the total compensation costs 
per hour to be $33.02 per hour ($23.18 per hour / 0.702). The labor 
cost per vehicle is estimated to be $1.10 ($33.02 x 2 minutes/60), and 
the total labor cost for preparing and affixing labels to the estimated 
4.5 million vehicles each year is estimated to be $4,953,000 ($1.10 x 
4.5 million vehicles).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Table 1. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation by 
ownership (Mar. 2020), available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_06182020.pdf (accessed August 31, 2021).
    \2\ May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment 
and Wage Estimates, NAICS 336100--Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, 
Assemblers and Fabricators, Occupation Code 51-2000, https://www.bls.gov/oes/2020/may/oessrci.htm (accessed August 31, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    NHTSA estimates the labor costs associated with developing and 
submitting reports of the target area locations for labels or stamping 
under Sec.  541.5(e) using the average wage for compliance officers in 
the motor vehicle manufacturing industry (Standard Occupational 
Classification #13-1041), which BLS estimates to be $42.30 \3\ per 
hour. Using this estimate, NHTSA estimates the total compensation costs 
per hour to be $60.26 per hour ($42.30 per hour / 0.702). The labor 
cost to prepare each report submitted under Sec.  541.5(e) is estimated 
to be $1,205.20 ($60.26 x 20 hours per submission), and the total labor 
cost for the estimated 23 target area reports that will be submitted 
each year is estimated to be $27,720 ($1,205.20 x 23 reports, rounded).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment 
and Wage Estimates, NAICS 336100--Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, 
Compliance Officer, Occupation Code 13-1041, https://www.bls.gov/oes/2020/may/naics4_336100.htm#13-0000 (accessed August 31, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    NHTSA estimates that Part 541 will impose an annual reporting 
burden of 150,460 burden-hours, and the total estimated labor costs 
associated with these burden hours endured by the responding 
manufacturers are $4,977,720 ($4,950,000 + $27,720).
    49 CFR Part 542: Currently there are seven manufacturers who 
produce LDTs that could be subject to the parts-marking requirements. 
While NHTSA estimates that all seven are still active in the U.S. 
market, only manufacturers that introduce new LDT lines would be 
required to report to NHTSA under 49 CFR 542.1 and 49 CFR 542.2. On 
average, NHTSA estimates that approximately that one LDT line will be 
introduced each year for which the manufacturer will need to submit 
information under Sec.  542.1 and one LDT line will be introduced for 
which the manufacturer will need to submit information under Sec.  
541.2.
    Section 542.1 specifies procedures for motor vehicle manufacturers 
and the agency to follow in the determination of new LDT lines that are 
likely to have a theft rate above or below the median theft rate of 
3.5826. This section also provides the manufacturers with notice of 
their rights and responsibilities during the selection and appeals 
process. On average, NHTSA estimates that there will be approximately 
one manufacturer submittal a year. NHTSA further estimates that the 
burden for each Sec.  542.1 submittal is approximately 45 hours. 
Therefore, the total annual burden for Sec.  542.1 submittals is 
estimated to be 45 hours.
    Section 542.2 specifies procedures for motor vehicle manufacturers 
and NHTSA to follow in the determination of new LTD lines that will 
likely have a low theft rate and have major parts interchangeable with 
a majority of the major parts of a passenger motor vehicle line subject 
to the parts-marking requirements. This section also provides the 
manufacturers with notice of their rights and responsibilities during 
the selection and appeal process. On average, NHTSA estimates that 
there will be approximately one manufacturer submittal a year. NHTSA 
further estimates that the burden for each Sec.  542.2 submittal is 
approximately 45 hours. Therefore, the total annual burden for Sec.  
542.2 submittals is estimated to be 45 hours.
    NHTSA estimates the labor cost associated with this collection of 
information by (1) applying the appropriate average hourly labor rate 
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), (2) dividing by 
0.702 \4\ (70.2%), for private industry workers to obtain the total 
cost of compensation, and (3) multiplying by the estimated burden hours 
for each respondent type.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See Table 1. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation by 
ownership (Mar. 2020), available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_06182020.pdf (accessed August 31, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table 1 below provides a summary of the estimated burden hours and 
Table 2 provides a summary of the labor costs associated with the 
burden hours.

                                               Table 1--Total Estimated Burden Hours for Parts 541 and 542
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                Estimated
        IC No.                ICR title                  Type of IC             number of    Estimated  number of   Estimated  time per    Total burden
                                                                               respondents        responses               response             hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.....................  541: Parts-Marking on  Third-Party Disclosure........           21  4.5 million..........  2 minutes............         150,000
                         14 major parts (49
                         CFR 541.5(a)).
2.....................  541: Reporting of      Reporting.....................           21  23...................  20 hours.............             460
                         Target Areas to
                         NHTSA.
3.....................  Maintaining a Record   Recordkeeping.................           21  21...................  0 hours..............               0
                         of the Target Areas.
4.....................  542: Submissions for   Reporting.....................            1  1....................  45 hours.............              45
                         Determination of
                         whether LDT Line is
                         High Theft.
5.....................  542: Submission for    Reporting.....................            1  1....................  45 hours.............              45
                         Determination of
                         whether LDT line
                         Shares
                         Interchangeable
                         Parts with High
                         Theft Line.
                                                                              --------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.............  .....................  ..............................  ...........  .....................  .....................         150,550
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 26259]]


                                 Table 2--Estimated Labor Costs for Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Labor cost      Time per      Labor cost per   Total burden   Total labor
     ICR No.           ICR title        per hour       response         response          hours          cost
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1................  541: Parts-             $33.02  2 minutes.......           $1.10         150,000   $4,953,000
                    Marking on 14
                    major parts (49
                    CFR 541.5(a)).
2................  541: Reporting of        60.26  20 hours........        1,205.20             460    27,719.60
                    Target Areas to                                                                       27,720
                    NHTSA.
3................  Maintaining a              N/A  0 hours.........             N/A               0            0
                    Record of the
                    Target Areas.
4................  542: Submissions         60.26  45 hours........        2,711.70              45     2,711.70
                    for                                                                                    2,712
                    Determination of
                    whether LDT Line
                    is High Theft.
5................  542: Submission          60.26  45 hours........        2,711.70              45     2,711.70
                    for                                                                                    2,712
                    Determination of
                    whether LDT line
                    Shares
                    Interchangeable
                    Parts with High
                    Theft Line.
                                     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals.......  .................  ...........  ................  ..............         150,550    4,986,114
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden: $24,003,000.
    49 CFR Part 541: NHTSA assumes that most manufacturers will use the 
less expensive method of labeling the major parts on vehicles, and not 
stamp the VINs onto major parts, based on historical practice and the 
agency's current understanding of how manufacturers fit labeling into 
the vehicle assembly line. The cost of this collection of information 
will comprise of printing costs for the labels affixed to the vehicle 
parts. There are no additional costs to maintain the target area 
designation because maintaining the designation is built into the 
production process of a new vehicle line and the record of the target 
designation is kept electronically in the normal course of business. 
NHTSA estimates that the average cost to print each label is $0.381. 
There are an average 14 parts per vehicle to label; therefore, the 
printing cost per vehicle is $5.33. At present, the agency estimates 
that 4.5 million motor vehicles annually must have their major parts 
marked. The total annual costs are estimated to be $ 24,003,000 for 
label identifiers ($5.33 x 4.5 million vehicles).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        Number of                       Total printing     Number of          Total
                       Information collection                         parts labeled    Printing cost       cost per       vehicles per      estimated
                                                                       per  vehicle      per label         vehicle      year  (million)   printing cost
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
541: Parts-Marking on 14 major parts (49 CFR 541.5(a)).............              14           $0.381            $5.33              4.5      $24,003,000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Target area submissions require no additional costs to the 
respondents above and beyond the labor costs.
    49 CFR Parts 542: NHTSA estimates that meeting Part 542 involves no 
additional costs to the respondents above and beyond the labor costs.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspects of 
this information collection, including (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of 
responses.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. chapter 
35, as amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29A.

Raymond R. Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2022-09390 Filed 5-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P