[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7192-7193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3153]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
DOC has submitted 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: Annual Capital Expenditures Survey (ACES).
Form Number(s): ACE-1(S), ACE-1(M), ACE-1(Long), and ACE-2.
Agency Approval Number: 0607-0782.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Burden: 203,000 hours.
Number of Respondents: 61,000.
Avg. Hours Per Response: 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Needs and Uses: A major concern of economic policymakers is the
adequacy of investment in plant and equipment. Data on the amount of
business expenditures for new plant and equipment and measures of the
stock of existing facilities are critical to evaluate productivity
growth, the ability of U.S. business to compete with foreign business,
changes in industrial capacity, and measures of overall economic
performance. The ACES is the current source of comprehensive statistics
on business investment in buildings and other structures, machinery,
and equipment for private nonfarm businesses in the United States.
Major revisions from the previously approved collection are the
collection of detailed types of structures and types of equipment data
from employer businesses.
The plan for the continued survey is a basic annual survey that
collects fixed assets and depreciation, sales and receipts, and total
capital expenditures for new and used structures and equipment
separately, from employer enterprises. This collection is intended to
represent the capital expenditure activity of all employer firms and
provide comprehensive control estimates of total capital expenditures
for structures and equipment by industry.
All ACE-1 forms request sales and receipts information to calculate
industry investment to sales ratios and to assist in verifying that
consolidated company data are being reported. Assets and depreciation
information collected assists in measuring changes in the Nation's
capital stock estimates. As part of the basic survey, we also collect
data annually from a small sample of nonemployer enterprises. Using
Form ACE-2, the survey will request that nonemployer companies report
current year capital expenditures data. This collection is intended to
better represent total capital expenditures activity of all firms.
In conjunction with the basic survey is a supplemental survey
conducted every five years beginning with the 1998 survey. The
supplement will collect detailed information on expenditures by type of
structure, and by type of equipment. This supplement is included with
the basic survey only for employer companies. We collect detailed types
of structures and equipment data in the same year due to reporting
inconsistencies when attempting to collect the detailed data in
separate years. The detailed structures data will provide a 5-year
benchmark for estimates of value of new construction put in place. The
detailed equipment will provide a periodic measure of expenditure by
type of equipment and potentially serve as a benchmark for equipment
produced and consumed as represented in the Bureau of Economic
Analysis' (BEA) Input/Output accounts.
The ACES is an integral part of the Federal Government statistical
program to improve and supplement ongoing statistical programs. Federal
Government agencies, including the Census Bureau, use the data to
improve and supplement ongoing statistical programs.
The Census Bureau uses the data to improve the quality of monthly
economic indicators of investment. Specifically, the annual survey data
and the supplement on types of structures will become a benchmark for
monthly estimates of value of new construction put in place. The Value
of New Construction Put in Place survey currently uses the ACES data to
[[Page 7193]]
benchmark its industrial buildings data. Improvements in the economic
indicators will contribute to improved quarterly estimates of gross
domestic product from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
The BEA uses the data to refine annual estimates of investment in
structures and equipment in the national income and product accounts
and to improve estimates of capital stocks. The Department of the
Treasury uses the data in analysis of depreciation. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) uses the data to improve estimates of capital stocks
for productivity analysis. The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) uses the
data to improve estimates of investment indicators for monetary policy.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit
institutions.
Frequency: Annually.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Section 182, 224, & 225.
OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
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 Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) or e-
mail ([email protected]).
Dated: February 9, 2004.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-3153 Filed 2-12-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P