[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 245 (Wednesday, December 22, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76791-76793]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-27974]
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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 extension of the ``Producer Price Index Survey.'' 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 February 22, 2005.
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
[[Page 76792]]
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 Producer Price Index (PPI), one of the Nation's leading
economic indicators, is used as a measure of price movements, as an
indicator of inflationary trends, for inventory valuation, and as a
measure of purchasing power of the dollar at the primary-market level.
It also is used for market and economic research and as a basis for
escalation in long-term contracts and purchase agreements.
PPI data provide a description of the magnitude and composition of
price change within the economy, and serve a wide range of governmental
needs. These monthly indexes are closely followed and are viewed as
sensitive indicators. Price data are vital in helping both the
President and Congress set fiscal spending targets. PPIs are monitored
by the Federal Reserve Board Open Market Committee to help decide
monetary policy. The Department of Treasury and the Council of Economic
Advisors use PPI data to help form and evaluate monetary and fiscal
measures, and to help interpret the business environment. Furthermore,
dollar-denominated measures of economic performance, such as the Gross
Domestic Product, require accurate price data in order to convert
nominal-dollar values to constant-dollar values. Inflation-free
national income accounting figures are vital to fiscal and monetary
policymakers when setting objectives. In addition, it is common to find
one or more PPIs, alone or in combination with other measures, used to
escalate the delivered price of goods for government purchases.
PPI data are used by the private sector. Private industry uses PPI
data for contract escalation. For one particular method of tax-related
Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) inventory accounting, the Internal Revenue
Service suggests that firms use PPI data. Private businesses make
extensive use of industrial-price data for planning and operating.
Price trends are used to assess market conditions. Firms commonly
compare the prices they pay for material inputs and the prices they
receive for products that they sell with changes in similar PPIs.
Economic researchers and forecasters also use the PPI. Price
indexes are widely used to probe and measure the interaction of market
forces. Some examples of research topics that require extensive price
data include: the identification of varying price elasticities and the
degree of cost pass-through in the economy, the identification of
potential lead and lag structures among price changes, and the
identification of prices which exert major impacts throughout market
structures.
A description of program enhancements that improve data
completeness, streamline collection procedures, and reduce overall
respondent burden follows.
A. Disaggregation--Improvements made to disaggregation (i.e., item
selection) procedures have helped to better define a publication
structure that is: (1) Publishable in its entirety, (2) meets user
needs, (3) continuous, and (4) permits meaningful classification of
current production. Data now are collected using a method where price-
quotation selection is spread across predetermined product categories
that correspond to the complete output for a North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) industry. This modification nearly
guarantees that the PPI will collect enough price quotations to
populate more lightly weighted cells.
B. Sampling--Modifications made to sampling procedures now permit
the PPI to update weights of industry indexes without initiating a new
set of respondents. This process change is called ``recycling without
resampling.'' The PPI also has made it operationally feasible to
augment the sample of price quotations for a single product line within
a NAICS industry, rather than having to initiate an entirely new set of
respondents when such needs arise. These improvements enable the PPI
program to reduce both data-collection expenses and respondent burden,
while permitting efficient reallocation of program resources.
C. Publication--Historically, the PPI had been a family of indexes
focusing on the mining, manufacturing, agriculture, and forestry
sectors. However, the PPI's mission now includes a mandate requiring
the program work toward publication, wherever possible, of output price
indexes for every six-digit NAICS industry, including coverage of non-
goods producing industries. The PPI currently publishes 128 industry-
based indexes for non-goods producing industries. PPI coverage efforts
are now focusing on the development of price indexes that would track
the construction sector of the U.S. economy.
D. NAICS Classification--Effective with the release of data for
January 2004, the PPI converted its sampling, data collection, and
industry-based publication structures to the NAICS. Through December
2003, PPI's industry-based procedures were linked to the Standard
Industrial Classification (SIC) organizational system.
E. Electronic Data Collection--The BLS currently is developing
electronic data collection procedures that will reduce respondent
burden and increase efficiency. In addition, the BLS continues to
investigate and pursue technological solutions that permit secure e-
mail transactions between the BLS and its respondents. However, these
technological improvements also must safeguard the confidential
respondent information the BLS receives.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The BLS 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.
III. Current Action
Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the
Producer Price Index Survey.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Title: Producer Price Index Survey.
OMB Number: 1220-0008.
Affected Public: Business and other for-profit.
[[Page 76793]]
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Average time Estimated
Form Total Frequency Total per response total burden
respondents responses (minutes) (hours)
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BLS 1810A, A1, B, C, C1, and E 6,340 once............ 6,340 120 12,680
BLS 473P...................... 26,250 monthly......... 1,260,000 18 378,000
Totals.................... 32,590 ................ 1,266,340 .............. 390,680
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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 7th day of December 2004.
Cathy Kazanowski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 04-27974 Filed 12-21-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P