Notice2025-15462
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 14, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentCensus Bureau
Abstract
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the proposed extension of the Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey, prior to the submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 155 (Thursday, August 14, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 155 (Thursday, August 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39180-39181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-15462]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey
AGENCY: Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the
proposed extension of the Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey, prior to the
submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for
approval.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received on or before October 14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b6e2ded9dbd7c598fc98e5dbdfc2def6d5d3d8c5c3c598d1d9c0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5004383f3d31237e1a7e033d3924381033353e2325237e373f26">[email protected]</span></a> or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9bcbc9daf8f4f6f6fef5efe8dbfff4f8b5fcf4ed"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="82d2d0c3e1edefefe7ecf6f1c2e6ede1ace5edf4">[email protected]</span></a>. Please
reference Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey in the subject line of your
comments. You may also submit comments, identified by Docket Number
USBC-2025-0073, to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. All comments received are part of the public
record. No comments will be posted to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> for
public viewing until after the comment period has closed. Comments will
generally be posted without change. All Personally Identifiable
Information (for example, name and address) voluntarily submitted by
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word,
Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed
to Emma Reburn, Chief, Wholesale Indicator Branch, Economic Indicators
Division, by phone at 301-763-0259, or by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0e6b63636f207e207c6b6c7b7c604e6d6b607d7b7d20696178"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="294c4444480759075b4c4b5c5b47694a4c475a5c5a074e465f">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey (MWTS) provides measures of
monthly sales, end-of-month inventories, and inventories/sales ratios
in the United States by selected kinds of business for merchant
wholesalers, excluding manufacturers' sales branches and offices.
Estimates from the MWTS are released in three different reports each
month. High level aggregate estimates for end-of-month inventories are
first released as part of the Advance Economic Indicators Report
approximately 27 days after the close of the reference month. The full
Monthly Wholesale Trade Report containing both sales and inventories
estimates is released approximately 39 days after the close of the
reference month. Sales and inventories estimates from the MWTS are also
released as part of the Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales
(MTIS) report issued approximately 45 days after the close of the
reference month. The Bureau of Economic Analysis uses this information
to improve the inventory valuation adjustments applied to estimates of
the Gross Domestic Product. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses
the data as input to develop Producer Price Indexes and productivity
measurements.
The MWTS estimates are also used as an input in the Monthly
Wholesale Real Dollar Estimates experimental product, first published
on September 19, 2022 and then revised and appended on September 09,
2024. This is a supplement to the MWTS report. The estimates were
created from the nominal MWTS sales and inventory series using product
weights developed from existing Census Bureau data releases and price
indexes from the BLS. Within the report, real dollar sales,
inventories, and inventories-to-sales ratio estimates and corresponding
residuals are available for Total Merchant Wholesalers, except
Manufacturers' Sales Branches and Offices, as well as the two 3-digit
and eighteen 4-digit North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS) wholesale subsectors. Monthly estimates are available from
January 2012 forward and can be found at <a href="http://www.census.gov/wholesale/real.html">www.census.gov/wholesale/real.html</a>.
Estimates produced from the MWTS are based on a probability sample
and are published on the NAICS basis. The sample design consists of
small, medium, and large cases requested to report sales and
inventories each month. The sample, consisting of about 4,200 wholesale
businesses, is drawn from the Business Register, which contains all
Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) and listed establishment
locations. The sample is updated quarterly to reflect employer business
``births'' and ``deaths''. New employer businesses identified in the
Business and Professional Classification Survey are added and employer
businesses determined to be no longer active are removed.
II. Method of Collection
Respondents are initially contacted primarily by email, with a
small subset receiving a letter by mail. After initial contact, non-
respondents are contacted by email and/or telephone follow-up. We
collect the data primarily by internet. We collect a small portion of
the data by mail, telephone follow-up, and fax. Paper collection will
be phased out beginning in late 2025.
[[Page 39181]]
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0607-0190.
Form Number(s): SM4217-A and SM4217-E.
Type of Review: Regular submission. Request for an Extension
without change of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: U.S. merchant wholesale firms, excluding
manufacturers' sales branches and office.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,200.
Estimated Time per Response: 7 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 5,880 hours.
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: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 131 and 182.
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.
Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Compliance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2025-15462 Filed 8-13-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P
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