Federal Register: June 14, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 114)
DOCID: FR Doc E6-9259
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Labor Statistics Bureau
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Proposed Collection, Comment Request
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice on or before August 14, 2006.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance 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 ProgramU.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.
SUMMARY:
Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals,
SUPPLEMENTAL 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 inflationadjusted 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
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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 outofscope 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:
Type of Review: Revision.
Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Title: International Price Program/U.S. Import Product Information.
OMB Number: 12200026.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit.
Average time Estimated
Form Total Frequency Total per response total burden
respondents responses (hours) (hours)
Initiation Visit (includes form 2,000 Annually........... 2,000 1.0 2,000 3008).
Form 3007D....................... 3,700 Monthly............ 23,680 .6507 15,409
Totals....................... 5,700 ................... 25,680 .............. 17,409
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. E69259 Filed 61306; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 451024P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer, telephone number 2026917628. (See ADDRESSES section.)