[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34395-34396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9259]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Proposed Collection, Comment Request
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format,
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. The
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the
proposed revision of the ``International Price Program--U.S. Import
Product Information.'' A copy of the proposed information collection
request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual listed below
in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice on or before August 14, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer,
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080,
2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Washington, DC 20212, telephone number
202-691-7628. (This is not a toll free number.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer,
telephone number 202-691-7628. (See ADDRESSES section.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The U.S. Import Price Indexes, produced continuously by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics' International Price Program (IPP) since 1973,
measure price change over time for all categories of imported products,
as well as many services. The Office of Management and Budget has
listed the Import Price Indexes as a Principal Federal Economic
Indicator since 1982. The indexes are widely used in both the public
and private sectors. The primary public sector use is the deflation of
the U.S. Trade Statistics and the Gross Domestic Product; the indexes
also are used in formulating U.S. trade policy and in trade
negotiations with other countries. In the private sector, uses of the
Import Price Indexes include market analysis, inflation forecasting,
contract escalation, and replacement cost accounting.
The IPP indexes are closely followed statistics, and are viewed as
a sensitive indicator of the economic environment. The U.S. Department
of Commerce uses the monthly statistics to produce monthly and
quarterly estimates of inflation-adjusted trade flows. Without
continuation of data collection, it would be extremely difficult to
construct accurate estimates of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. In
addition, Federal policymakers in the Department of Treasury, the
Council of Economic Advisers, and the Federal Reserve Board utilize
these statistics on a regular basis to improve these agencies'
formulation and evaluation of monetary and fiscal policy and evaluation
of the general business environment.
II. Current Action
The IPP continues to modernize data collection and processing to
permit more timely release of its indexes, and to reduce reporter
burden. Recently, the IPP implemented changes to reduce
[[Page 34396]]
burden on those reporters that are major traders and account for a
significant portion of trade. Field economists are provided with more
accurate information about the potential overlap between establishments
that are both in both the IPP and the Producer Price Index in order to
better coordinate visits to establishments when obtaining new items for
repricing. The IPP also implemented an enhanced refinement process that
provides Industry Analysts the ability to reduce the burden for a
respondent when necessary and modified the second stage selection
algorithm to lower the percentage of infrequently traded areas that are
sampled, because they are more likely to be out-of-scope for the IPP.
These improvements should reduce the overall burden on respondents and
improve the IPP's overall response rate at initiation. In addition, in
2003 the IPP introduced a web application for monthly data collection.
This tool allows respondents to directly update their data online via
the Internet. Web collection has expanded rapidly since the IPP began
soliciting respondents and as of April 2006, the Program had solicited
70 percent of all respondents, with a goal of 75 percent by September
2006, and 95 percent by September 2007. Through April 2006, nearly 40
percent of the IPP respondents are actually utilizing web collection
while the majority of respondents still use the mailout/faxback
process. In addition, email repricing has the possibility of expanding,
and over time, these various electronic data collection methods for
repricing will continue to allow the IPP to collect and publish monthly
data in a timely manner.
III. Desired Focus of Comments
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in
comments that:
Evaluate 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;
Evaluate 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;
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submissions of responses.
Type of Review: Revision.
Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Title: International Price Program/U.S. Import Product Information.
OMB Number: 1220-0026.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
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Average time Estimated
Form Total Frequency Total per response total burden
respondents responses (hours) (hours)
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Initiation Visit (includes form 2,000 Annually........... 2,000 1.0 2,000
3008).
Form 3007D....................... 3,700 Monthly............ 23,680 .6507 15,409
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Totals....................... 5,700 ................... 25,680 .............. 17,409
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Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget
approval of the information collection request; they also will become a
matter of public record.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 6th day of June, 2006.
Catherine Kazanowski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. E6-9259 Filed 6-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P