Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Services Surveys: BE-30, Quarterly Survey of Ocean Freight Revenues and Foreign Expenses of U.S. Carriers, and the BE-37, Quarterly Survey of U.S. Airline Operators' Foreign Revenues and Expenses

Published date20 September 2021
Citation86 FR 52125
Record Number2021-20282
SectionNotices
CourtEconomic Analysis Bureau
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 179 (Monday, September 20, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 179 (Monday, September 20, 2021)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 52125-52127]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2021-20282]
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                DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
                Bureau of Economic Analysis
                Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
                Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
                Request; Services Surveys: BE-30, Quarterly Survey of Ocean Freight
                Revenues and Foreign Expenses of U.S. Carriers, and the BE-37,
                Quarterly Survey of U.S. Airline Operators' Foreign Revenues and
                Expenses
                AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 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 of 1995 (PRA), 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
                preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
                DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed
                information collection must be received on or before November 19, 2021.
                ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to
                Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of Economic
                Analysis, by email to [email protected] or [email protected].
                Please reference OMB Control Number 0608-0011 in the subject line of
                your comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
                otherwise sensitive or protected information.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
                specific questions related to collection activities should be directed
                to Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of
                Economic Analysis, 301-278-9189, or via email to
                [email protected].
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                I. Abstract
                 The Quarterly Survey of Ocean Freight Revenues and Foreign Expenses
                of U.S. Carriers (BE-30) collects data from U.S. ocean freight carriers
                (owners and operators) that engaged in the international transportation
                of freight, cargo, and/or passengers between U.S. and foreign ports or
                between foreign ports, if total covered revenues or total covered
                expenses were $500,000 or more in the previous year or are expected to
                be $500,000 or more during the current year.
                 The Quarterly Survey of U.S. Airline Operators' Foreign Revenues
                and Expenses (BE-37) collects data from U.S. airline operators engaged
                in the international transportation of passengers or of U.S. export
                freight, or the transportation of freight or passengers between two
                foreign points, if total covered revenues or total covered expenses
                were $500,000 or more in the previous year or are expected to be
                $500,000 or more during the current year.
                [[Page 52126]]
                 The data are needed to monitor trade in transport services, to
                analyze the impact of U.S. trade on the U.S. and foreign economies, to
                compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts, to support U.S.
                commercial policy on trade in transport services, to conduct trade
                promotion, and to improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify
                and evaluate market opportunities. The data are used in estimating the
                transport services component of the U.S. international transactions
                accounts (ITAs) and national income and product accounts (NIPAs).
                 The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is proposing modifications to
                the information collected on the BE-37 survey, and a change to the BE-
                30 and BE-37 surveys' due dates, beginning with the reporting period
                for first quarter 2022. The proposed modifications to the BE-37 survey
                would eliminate the collection of certain items not currently needed to
                estimate international transactions in air transportation services, and
                introduce new items that will increase the quality and usefulness of
                BEA's statistics on trade in transport services. BEA proposes the
                following changes to the BE-37 survey:
                 BEA proposes to eliminate the collection of several items on the
                BE-37 survey: (1) Total revenue from transporting passengers
                originating from, or destined to, points outside the United States; (2)
                total revenue from transporting passengers to and/or from the United
                States, (3) interline settlement receipts from foreign airline
                operators; and (4) interline settlement payments to foreign airline
                operators. BEA proposes to eliminate these items because the
                information collected is not currently used to estimate international
                transactions in air transportation services and is not expected to be
                needed in the future.
                 BEA proposes to collect country detail for BE-37 survey item 1,
                revenue from carriage of export freight and express originating from
                the United States to points outside the United States, and item 2,
                revenue from carriage of freight and express originating from, and
                destined to, points outside the United States. Currently, only global
                totals are collected for these items. Requiring airlines to report
                these two items by country will improve the quality of the geographic
                statistics BEA disseminates.
                 BEA proposes to add U.S. airliners' in-flight sales revenue (total
                and by region) and expand the information collected on number of
                passengers to include the region, on the BE-37 survey. In-flight sales
                are revenues of the airline or a vendor for the purposes of consumption
                on the aircraft (food, drinks, Wi-Fi, pillows, etc.). The data will be
                used to close a gap in the ancillary fees component of air passenger
                transport. Collecting this information by region will allow BEA to
                produce more detailed statistics on trade in transport services because
                large differences exist across regions in per-passenger ancillary fee
                revenue, mostly corresponding to length of flight. BEA proposes to
                collect this item and number of passengers by region according to the
                three regional designations outlined by the U.S. Department of
                Transportation in 14 CFR 241.21(g)--Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and
                Latin America. These designations group Canada within the domestic
                category. Although revenue and expenses for Canada must be included in
                all other items on this survey, Canada will be excluded from the item
                on in-flight sales revenue and number of passengers.
                 Additionally, BEA proposes to collect two additional airline
                identification elements on the BE-37 survey: the U.S. airline's
                International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Civil
                Aviation Organization (ICAO) codes. These elements will enable BEA to
                match information reported on the BE-37 with supplemental information
                received from other government agencies and increase the quality and
                accuracy of BEA's statistics on trade in services.
                 BEA also proposes to change the due dates of the BE-30 and BE-37
                surveys to 30 days after the close of each quarter from 45 days.
                Shortening the reporting timeline will allow BEA to produce more
                accurate and complete trade in transport services statistics in
                preliminary estimates of the ITAs, which is critical information for
                policymakers' timely decisions on international trade policy. The
                earlier due date will allow BEA to use more reported data for
                preliminary statistics, improving the accuracy of both the aggregates
                and the country detail, reducing revisions in subsequent statistical
                releases.
                 BEA estimates there will be a one hour increase in the average
                burden for completing the BE-37 survey with data, from 4 to 5 hours
                pers response, primarily as a result of the requirement to report
                country detail for revenue from the carriage of freight and express.
                There will be no change in the average number of burden hours per
                response for the BE-30 survey, currently estimated to be 4 hours. The
                language in the instructions and definitions will be reviewed and
                adjusted as necessary to clarify survey requirements.
                II. Method of Collection
                 BEA contacts potential respondents by mail at the end of each
                quarter. Respondents would be required to file the completed BE-30 and
                BE-37 forms within 30 days after the end of each quarter.
                 BE-30 reports would be required from each U.S. ocean freight
                carrier (owners and operators) that engaged in the international
                transportation of freight, cargo, and/or passengers between U.S. and
                foreign ports or between foreign ports, whose total covered revenues or
                total covered expenses were $500,000 or more in the previous year or
                are expected to be $500,000 or more during the current year.
                 BE-37 reports would be required from each from U.S. airline
                operator engaged in the international transportation of passengers or
                of U.S. export freight, or the transportation of freight or passengers
                between two foreign points, whose total covered revenues or total
                covered expenses were $500,000 or more in the previous year or are
                expected to be $500,000 or more during the current year.
                 Entities required to report on the BE-30 and BE-37 surveys will be
                contacted individually by BEA. Entities not contacted by BEA have no
                reporting responsibilities.
                 BEA offers its electronic filing option, the eFile system, for use
                in reporting on Forms BE-30 and BE-37. For more information about
                eFile, go to www.bea.gov/efile. In addition, BEA posts all its survey
                forms and reporting instructions on its website, www.bea.gov/ssb. These
                may be downloaded, completed, printed, and submitted via fax or mail.
                III. Data
                 OMB Control Number: 0608-0011.
                 Form Number(s): BE-30 and BE-37.
                 Type of Review: Regular submission.
                 Affected Public: U.S. ocean carriers and U.S. airline operators.
                 Estimated Number of BE-30 Respondents: 200 annually (50 filed each
                quarter; 48 reporting mandatory data, and 2 that would file exemption
                claims or voluntary responses).
                 Estimated Number of BE-37 Respondents: 120 annually (30 filed each
                quarter; 28 reporting mandatory data, and 2 that would file an
                exemption claim or voluntary response).
                 Estimated Time per Response: For the BE-30, 4 hours is the average
                for those reporting data and one hour is the average for those filing
                an exemption claim. For the BE-37, 5 hours is the average for those
                reporting data and one hour is the average for those filing an
                [[Page 52127]]
                exemption claim. For the BE-30 and BE-37 surveys, hours may vary
                considerably among respondents because of differences in company size
                and complexity.
                 Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,344 (776 for the BE-30; 568
                for the BE-37).
                 Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
                 Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
                 Legal Authority: International Investment and Trade in Services
                Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended).
                IV. Request for Comments
                 Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden
                (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
                (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
                information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
                collection of information on respondents, including through 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,
                Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
                Officer, Commerce Department.
                [FR Doc. 2021-20282 Filed 9-17-21; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 3510-06-P
                

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