Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 13, 2008 / Notices 47129 

Survey (MECS), which is conducted for 

the Department of Energy by the Census 

Bureau. The Department of Commerce 

uses the exports of manufactured 

products data to measure the 

importance of exports to the 

manufacturing economy of each state. 

Within the Census Bureau, the ASM 

data are used to benchmark and 

reconcile monthly and quarterly data on 

manufacturing production and 

inventories. The ASM is the only source 

of complete establishment statistics for 

the programs mentioned above. 

The ASM furnishes up-to-date 

estimates of employment and payrolls, 

hours and wages of production workers, 

value added by manufacture, cost of 

materials, value of shipments by class of 

product, inventories, cost of employer’s 

fringe benefits, operating expenses, and 

expenditures for new and used plant 

and equipment. The survey provides 

data for most of these items for all 5- 

digit and selected 6-digit industries as 

defined in the North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS). We also 

provide geographic data by state at a 

more aggregated industry level. 

The survey also provides valuable 

information to private companies, 

research organizations, and trade 

associations. Industry makes extensive 

use of the annual figures on product 

class shipments at the U.S. level in its 

market analysis, product planning, and 

investment planning. State 

development/planning agencies rely on 

the survey as a major source of 

comprehensive economic data for 

policymaking, planning, and 

administration. 

The Ownership or Control Forms 

(NC–99530) will be used to update the 

Business Register, the basic sampling 

frame for many of our current surveys. 

This enables us to update 

establishments in the Census Bureau’s 

Business Register that are incorrectly 

identified as being single-establishment 

firms. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Title 13, United 

States Code, Sections 182, 224, 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 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 Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB 

Desk Officer either by fax (202–395–

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

Dated: August 7, 2008. 

Gwellnar Banks, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. E8–18649 Filed 8–12–08; 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: Manufacturers’ Shipments, 

Inventories, and Orders to the 

Department of Defense. 

Form Number(s): M3–DOD, M3–

DOD(I). 

OMB Control Number: None. 

Type of Request: New collection. 

Burden Hours: 2,500. 

Number of Respondents: 5,000. 

Average Hours Per Response: 30 

minutes. 

Needs and Uses: The Manufacturers’

Shipments, Inventories, and Orders 

(M3) survey collects monthly data on 

shipments, inventories, and orders from 

domestic manufacturing companies. 

The purpose of the M3 survey is to 

provide early broad-based monthly 

statistical data on current economic 

conditions and indications of future 

production commitments in the 

manufacturing sector. The orders, as 

well as the shipments and inventory 

data, are used widely and are valuable 

tools for analysis of business cycle 

conditions. Major data users include: 

members of the Council of Economic 

Advisers (CEA), Bureau of Economic 

Analysis (BEA), Federal Reserve Board 

(FRB), Conference Board, Treasury 

Department, and the business 

community. 

The monthly M3 reflects primarily the 

month-to-month changes of companies 

within the survey. The M3 survey 

collects data for 89 industry categories 

of which 13 provide defense and nondefense allocations. Those industries 

include: Small Arms and Ordnance; 

Communications Equipment; Search 

and Navigation Equipment; Aircraft; 

Aircraft Engine and Parts; Missile, 

Space Vehicle, and Parts Manufacturing; 

and Ship and Boat Building. 

The link relative estimator used in the 

M3 is not self-correcting. A minor error 

in the series can be magnified by the 

multiplicative effect of the estimator. 

Over time, the M3 estimates can be 

significantly different than the true 

universe levels. Consequently, there is a 

need to re-establish these universe 

levels on a periodic basis. The Annual 

Survey of Manufactures (ASM) provides 

annual benchmarks for the shipments 

and inventory data for the M3 survey; 

however, the ASM does not distinguish 

between defense and non-defense 

activities. The last collection instrument 

used to benchmark defense and nondefense data was the Shipments to 

Federal Agencies Benchmark Survey 

(MA–9675) conducted in 1992. Since 

the defense industries have dramatically 

changed, it is necessary to conduct a 

benchmark survey to obtain a current 

allocation of data between defense and 

non-defense manufacturing activities for 

the M3 universe levels. 

The Manufacturers’ Shipments, 

Inventories, and Orders to the 

Department of Defense (M3DOD) survey 

will collect 2006 and 2007 shipments, 

inventories, and unfilled orders data 

from domestic manufacturing 

companies that encompass defense 

manufacturing activities. This survey 

will be conducted every five years to 

provide correct benchmark levels and 

preserve the integrity of the estimates 

for the M3 survey, especially for the 

closely watched non-defense capital 

goods series. The monthly M3 data will 

be adjusted based on the results of the 

M3DOD survey. 

The M3DOD survey will provide upto-date shipments, unfilled orders, and 

inventories data to domestic 

manufacturing establishments that 

encompass defense and non-defense 

manufacturing activities. During the 

M3’s benchmarking process, the data 

will be applied to adjust shipments, 

unfilled orders, and inventories for 

selected M3 industries on a NAICS 

basis. The M3’s current universe will be 

recalibrated to a new level reflecting the 

most recent economic condition of 

defense and non-defense sectors. Once 

revisions are finalized, the benchmark 

will take place, revising the M3’s 

historical time series beginning with 

1992 for defense and non-defense 

sectors. The benchmark report will be 

released to the public electronically. 

The M3’s data users will have more 

accurate data reflecting short and longterm trends in these manufacturing 

sectors. 


ebenthall on PRODPC60 with NOTICES
47130 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 13, 2008 / Notices 

The value of shipments, especially 

when adjusted for change in inventory, 

measures current levels of production. 

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 CEA, BEA, 

FRB, Department of Treasury, business 

firms, trade associates, private research 

and consulting agencies, and the 

academic community. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit. 

Frequency: Every five years. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: The M3DOD survey 

will be conducted on a mandatory basis 

under the authority of Title 13, United 

State Code, Sections 131, 182, 193 and 

224. 

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 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 Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB 

Desk Officer either by fax (202–395–

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

Gwellnar Banks, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. E8–18650 Filed 8–12–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Economic Analysis 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Direct Investments 

Survey: Direct Transactions of U.S. 

Reporter with Foreign Affiliate 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before 5 p.m. October 

14, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Diane Hynek, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 

14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20230, or via e-mail at 

dhynek@doc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to David Galler, Chief, Direct 

Investment Division (BE–50), Bureau of 

Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; 

phone: (202) 606–9835; fax: (202) 606–

5318; or via e-mail at 

David.Galler@bea.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Form BE–577, Direct 

Transactions of U.S. Reporter with 

Foreign Affiliate, obtains quarterly data 

on transactions and positions between 

U.S.-owned foreign business enterprises 

and their U.S. parent companies. The 

survey is a sample survey that covers all 

foreign affiliates above a size-exemption 

level. The sample data are used to 

derive universe estimates in 

nonbenchmark years from similar data 

reported in the BE–10, Benchmark 

Survey of U.S. Direct Investment 

Abroad, which is taken every five years. 

The data are used in the preparation of 

the U.S. international transactions 

accounts, the input-output accounts, 

and the national income and product 

accounts. The data are needed to 

measure the size and economic 

significance of direct investment abroad, 

measure changes in such investment, 

and assess its impact on the U.S. and 

foreign economies. 

The data from the survey are 

primarily intended as general purpose 

statistics. They should be readily 

available to answer any number of 

research and policy questions related to 

U.S. direct investment abroad. 

The form remains the same as in the 

past. No changes in the data collected or 

in exemption levels are proposed. 

II. Method of Collection 

Survey forms will be sent to U.S. 

parent companies each quarter; 

responses will be due within 30 days 

after the close of each fiscal quarter, 

except for the final quarter of the fiscal 

year, when reports should be filed 

within 45 days. A report must be filed 

for every foreign business enterprise 

whose voting stock (or the equivalent) is 

owned 10 percent or more by a U.S. 

business enterprise and for which any 

one of the following three items was 

greater than $40 million (positive or 

negative) at the end of, or for, the 

foreign business enterprise’s fiscal year: 

(1) Total assets, (2) sales or gross 

operating revenues excluding sales 

taxes, or (3) net income after provision 

for foreign income taxes. 

As an alternative to filing paper 

forms, BEA will offer an electronic filing 

option, its eFile system, for use in 

reporting on Form BE–577. For more 

information about eFile go to http:// 

www.bea.gov/efile. 

Potential respondents are the U.Sowned foreign business enterprises that 

were reported in the last benchmark 

survey of U.S. direct investment abroad, 

which covered the data year 2004, along 

with the foreign business enterprises 

that subsequently entered the direct 

investment universe. The data collected 

are sample data. Universe estimates are 

developed from the reported sample 

data. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0608–0004. 

Form Number: BE–577. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

15,500 per quarter; 62,000 annually. 

Estimated Time Per Response: 1 hour 

is the average, but may vary according 

to the number, size, and complexity of 

the businesses covered by the response. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 62,000. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $0. 

IV. Request for Comments 

Comments are invited on: (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 

(including hours and cost) of the 

proposed collection of information; (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 through the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 


ebenthall on PRODPC60 with NOTICES