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[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47129-47130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18650]

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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 non-defense 
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 non-defense 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 up-to-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 long-term trends in these 
manufacturing sectors.

[[Page 47130]]

    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 for-profit.
    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 Harris-Kojetin, (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 
[email protected] ).
    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 ([email protected]).

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
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