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, 52125-52127 [2021-20282]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• Bureau of Economic Analysis

[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