Sept 10 -- The Census Bureau has asked OMB to approve its proposal to conduct the Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS) for 2020 through 2022 and invites the public to send comments to OMB by October 12, 2020.
The Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS) covers employer firms with establishments located in the United States and classified in the wholesale trade sector, as defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). There are two main types of wholesalers in the wholesale trade sector: (1) Merchant wholesalers and (2) agents, brokers, and electronic markets. Merchant wholesalers sell goods on their own account. This category includes sales offices and sales branches (except retail stores) maintained by manufacturing, refining, or mining enterprises apart from their plants or mines for the purpose of marketing their products. Agents, brokers, and electronic markets, on the other hand, arrange sales and purchases for others (generally for a commission or fee).
Respondents are further separated into the following three type of operation categories: Merchant wholesalers, excluding manufacturers' sales branches and offices; manufacturers' sales branches and offices; and agents, brokers, and electronic markets.
In response to a request from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the AWTS will also collect annual detailed operating expenses and annual sales tax information during survey year 2022. Respondents are only asked to provide data for these two items in years ending in “2” and “7”, which coincide with the Economic Census collection. Merchant wholesalers, excluding manufacturers' sales branches and offices, will receive the detailed operating expenses and sales tax questions. Conversely, manufacturers' sales branches and offices will only see the sales tax question. Companies that fall under the agents, brokers, and electronic markets category will not be asked to provide detailed operating expenses or sales tax information.
The Census Bureau considered the addition of questions to the AWTS related to the impact coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had on firms for survey year 2020. After internal discussions, the Census Bureau decided it will not include COVID-19 questions on the AWTS.
AWTS website:
https://www.census.gov/awts
FR notice inviting comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/10/2020-19987/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-to-the-office-of-management-and-budget-omb-for
Submission to OMB for 2020-22:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202009-0607-002 Click on IC List for survey instruments, View Supporting Statement for narrative on uses, methods, and schedule.
Point of contact: John Dougherty, Chief of the Wholesale Trade Branch (Economy-Wide Statistics Division, U.S. Census Bureau) 301-763-8936 John.Dougherty@census.gov.
For AEA members wishing to provide comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806