SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The Commodity Flow Survey, a component of the 2027 Economic Census, is the only comprehensive and publicly available source of multimodal, ( printed page 29450) system-wide data on the volume and pattern of goods movements in the United States. The Commodity Flow Survey is conducted in partnership with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Commodity Flow Survey data are used by policy makers and transportation planners in various federal, state, and local agencies to assess the demand for transportation facilities and services, energy use, safety risks, and environmental concerns. Additionally, business owners, private researchers, and analysts use the Commodity Flow Survey data for analyzing trends in the movement of goods, mapping spatial patterns of commodity and vehicle flows, forecasting demands for the movement of goods, and determining the needs for associated infrastructure and equipment.

The survey provides data on the movement of commodities in the United States from their origin to destination. The survey produces summary statistics on value, tons, and average miles by commodity, industry, and mode of transportation. The Census Bureau will publish these shipment characteristics for the nation, census regions and divisions, states, and CFS defined geographical areas.

Primary strategies for reducing respondent burden in the Commodity Flow Survey include: employing a stratified random sample of business establishments; requesting data on a limited sample of shipment records from each establishment with the option to provide all shipments in the week, which simplified reporting for respondents; conducting a pre-canvass survey before the first quarter to inquire about the shipping status of NAICS auxiliary and publisher establishments and to route non-shippers out of the survey; the pre-canvass survey will also be conducted to offer select large companies with multi-unit establishments the ability to create mail groups (which are single points of contact for companies with multiple establishments); and adding the ability to create mail groups within each quarter instead of only at the beginning of each quarter like 2022; removing the supplemental questions from quarters one and four on hazardous materials packaging for companies that ship hazardous materials will decrease the number of establishments from 160,000 in 2022 to 140,000 in 2027; accepting estimates of shipping activity and allowing respondents the option to report their shipment weight in additional units of measurement; applying machine learning to code products based on their descriptions; and providing electronic reporting and including the option for consolidated reporting of multiple locations through a single login for larger companies. In conclusion, the above items will help reduce the burden for the 2027 CFS. There will be a substantial decrease in the number of respondents and the annual burden hours by removing the hazardous materials packaging respondents and their corresponding survey questions from the 2027 CFS. The burden hours will also be reduced by allowing the respondents to submit all their data in a given week instead of having to go through the process of sampling their shipments.

II. Method of Collection

A sample of business establishments classified in Mining, Manufacturing, Wholesale, and select Retail and Service industries (as defined by the North American Industry Classification System, or NAICS) will be selected for the Commodity Flow Survey. The survey will also cover auxiliary establishments ( i.e., warehouses and managing offices) of multi-unit establishments. Each selected establishment will be surveyed four times, once during each calendar quarter of 2027. Each questionnaire will ask the establishment to report data for up to 100 shipments for a predetermined reporting week. These data will include the value, net weight, commodity, and origin and destination of each selected shipment. Survey responses will be collected electronically, and respondents will have the option to provide all shipments for the reporting week instead of sampling shipments.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0607-0932.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for a Reinstatement, with Change, of a Previously Approved Collection.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 140,000.

Estimated Time per Response: 1.5 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 840,000.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0. (This is not the cost of respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services required specifically by the collection.)

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 8(b) 131 and 193; Title 49 U.S.C., Section 6302.

IV. Request for Comments

We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.