2012 Commodity Flow Survey

Attachment A-3

DRAFT
CFS-1100
(7-7-2011)

2012 Commodity Flow Survey
INSTRUCTION GUIDE
Instructions for Completing the Commodity Flow Survey
Please read all instructions.

Contents:
•
•
•

Part I — Instructions for Completing your Questionnaire ......................................................Pages 2–6
Part II — Mode of Transportation Definitions.........................................................................Page 7
Part III — State Postal Abbreviation List ...............................................................................Page 8

Instructions for completing the Commodity Flow Survey also are available on our website at
http://bhs.econ.census.gov/bhs/cfs/index.html. If you need to contact us by telephone, a representative will be
glad to assist you. Call us at 1–800–772–7851, option “3”, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern time.

NOTICE :
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 2 hours per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining
the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding
this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for
reducing this burden, to: Paperwork Project 0607-0932, U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road,
AMSD – 3K138, Washington, DC 20233-1500. You may e-mail comments to Paperwork@census.gov;
use "Paperwork Project 0607-0932" as the subject. Respondents are not required to respond to any
information collection unless it displays a valid approval number in the top right corner on the front of
the questionnaire

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Research and Innovative Technology Administration
BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Part I — Instructions for Completing Your Questionnaire

Item A: Verification of Shipping Address:
Check the box that correctly identifies if changes are necessary in the shipping address listed at the top
of the form. If the shipping address is incorrect, make changes directly in the box at the top of the form.
Shipping address is defined as the location from where shipments originate.

Item B: Mailing Address:
Check the box that correctly identifies the mailing address. If the shipping location can receive mail and
has access to the information asked, then mark “yes” and skip to C.
Otherwise, if you prefer the questionnaire to be sent elsewhere, as in a headquarters or office building
that handles the physical shipping location check "no” and use B(2) to enter proper mailing address.

Item C: Operating Status:
Check the box that best describes this establishment’s operating status during the designated reporting
week.
If this establishment was inactive and made no outbound shipments during the designated reporting
week: skip to the end of the questionnaire and complete the Contact information, and then return the
form to the Census Bureau in the envelope provided.

Item D(1): Total Number of Outbound Shipments
Enter in the space provided your total number of outbound shipments for the one week reporting period
printed in Item D(1).
What we mean by a "shipment":
An outbound shipment is a movement of commodities from your establishment to another single
location, in one trip. Single shipments may have multiple vehicles, such as unit trains or truck convoys.
Commodities sent from your establishment on a vehicle with multiple destinations constitute multiple
shipments. Each location on the route to which your commodities are delivered is considered one
shipment.
"Commodities" refer to items that the establishment at this location produces, sells, or distributes, not to
items that are considered waste-products (without value) of your location’s operation.
A special note about "shipments":
A full, or partial, truckload should be counted as a single shipment only if all the commodities on the
truck are destined for one location.
Include:

Include in this count any materials picked up by the customer ("customer pick-up").
Include only those shipments from the location specified in the label address if not changed.
Include shipments of commodities of all sizes, by any mode of transportation (e.g., parcels).
Include any shipment of products from this establishment to another location of the company if intended
for sale (e.g., products moved from this establishment to a company warehouse).

Page 2

CFS-1100 (7-7-2011)

Part I — Instructions for Completing Your Questionnaire — continued
Do not include:
Do not include as shipments internal administrative items, such as inter-office memos, payroll checks,
business correspondence, etc.
Do not include as shipments such as refuse, scrap paper, waste, and recyclable materials unless this
establishment is in the business of selling or providing these materials to others.
Do not include as shipments items moved from the establishment at this location to another location of
the company if not intended for commercial activity (e.g., the transfer of office furniture from one
location of this company to another location of this company for use at the new location).

Item D(2): Total Number of Outbound Shipments
Check the appropriate box in Item D(2) to indicate whether this establishment reported 40 or fewer
shipments in Item D(1). If "Yes" is marked, skip to Item F beginning on page 4 and report the
information requested for all shipments made during the assigned week.
If "No", continue with Item E on page 3 to determine the sample of shipments that your establishment
should report in Item F.

Item E: Sampling Instructions
If you have more than 40 outbound shipments for the one-week reporting period you are asked to
report only a sample of them in Item F. Using the table in E, the first column will be the number of
outbound shipments you reported in D(1). The second column shows which shipments to report to
create the sample for Item F.
When using the table in Item E to define your sample, you need to ensure that a full range of shipments
is represented. In other words, if you have one shipment that makes up a large portion of the weekly
shipment value, this can be added to, or substituted into, the sample. Also be sure the shipments
reflect the full range of shipping activities, such as modes of transportation used, commodities or
products shipped, and destinations.
A video of how to sample your shipments can be found at our website, http://bhs.econ.census.gov/
bhs/cfs/index.html. If you have any more questions about the sampling process (or any part of the
questionnaire) call us at 1-800-772-7851, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Eastern time.

CFS-1100 (7-7-2011)

Page 3

Part I — Instructions for Completing Your Questionnaire — continued
Item F: Shipment Characteristics
• Shipment ID Number, Column (B) – Enter the invoice number, shipment number, or some other
unique identification number that your establishment could use to find this particular shipping
document if questions arise regarding your report.
• Shipment Date, Column (C) – Enter the month and day of the shipment. If shipment date is not
available, use the invoice/shipping document date. Use numbers only.
• Shipment Value, Column (D) – Enter the dollar value, in whole dollars, of the entire shipment. The
value should not include freight charges or excise taxes (i.e., report the net selling value, f.o.b. plant).
If the value is not readily available from your records, please estimate.
• Net Shipment Weight, Column (E) – Enter the net weight of the total shipment in whole pounds. If net
weight is not readily available from your records, please estimate.
• SCTG Commodity Code, Column (F) – Please use the list of commodity codes provided in the SCTG
Commodity Codes booklet to select the proper code. For shipments with more than one commodity,
enter only the code for the commodity with the greatest weight. For assistance in locating the
appropriate commodity code, refer to the alphabetized listing of selected commodities at the end of
the SCTG Commodity Codes booklet. Additional assistance is available at our website at
http://bhs.econ. census.gov/bhs/cfs/index.html, or you may call us at 1–800–772–7851 to speak with
a Census Bureau representative.
• Commodity Description, Column (G) – Enter a brief description of the commodity shipped. For
shipments with more than one commodity, describe only the commodity with the greatest weight. Do
not use trade names, catalog numbers, or other codes not familiar to persons outside your business.
• Temperature Controlled, Column (H) – A temperature controlled shipment is defined as a shipment
that is transported in a vehicle or container that has measures for regulating the temperature while en
route (such as heating and refrigeration) or maintaining the temperature of the commodity at the time
of loading (such as insulation). This excludes shipments of commodities that have temperature
sensitivity without a means of controlling the temperature in the vehicle or container while in transport.
• For Hazardous Materials, column (I) – If the shipment is a hazardous material, enter the 4-digit United
Nations (UN) or North American (NA) number.

Page 4

(B)
123-5
402H

Day

(A)
0
00
1
2

Month

(C)

4
4

26
26

(D)
224,235
1,375

Net
Shipment
Weight in
pounds

(E)
4,840
50,125

SCTG commodity
code from
accompanying
booklet

(F)
34520
20222

Commodity Description

(G)
Mechanical machinery
Sulfuric acid

If a hazardous
material,
enter the
"UN" or "NA"
number

(H)
Y
N

(I)

Continue with

Shipment
Date

Shipment
Value
(excluding
shipping costs)
in whole
dollars.
Estimates
acceptable

1830

CFS-1100 (7-7-2011)

column (J) on page 5

Your
Shipment ID
Number

SHIPMENT CHARACTERISTICS
Temperature
Controlled (Y/N)?

Line No.

Item F

Part I — Instructions for Completing Your Questionnaire — continued

Item F: Shipment Characteristics – Continued
• U.S. Destination or U.S. Exit Port, Column (J) – For domestic shipments, enter the city, state, and 5digit ZIP Code of the buyer/receiver’s “ship to” address as it appears on the shipping document. For
the state portion, use the two-letter state postal abbreviation shown in part III.
Important – For export shipments, report the U.S. port of exit as the destination city. The port of exit is
the port or airport from which the shipment left the country. In case of land shipments into Mexico or
Canada, the port of exit is the border crossing.
• Mode(s) of Transport to U.S. Destination, Column (K) – Enter the code(s) for all modes of transport
used for the shipment to its U.S. destination (i.e., the destination reported in Column (J)). Codes are
located on the bottom of pages 5 and 7 of the questionnaire. Enter all that apply in the sequence in
which the mode is used. See part II for definitions of each mode.
For Customer Pick-up: Report the mode(s) of transportation used, if known. Otherwise, report mode
as "0" (unknown).
For Export Shipments: List only the mode(s) of transport used to the U.S. port, airport, or border
crossing of exit.
• Export, Column (L) – Indicate whether or not the shipment is intended for export outside of the United
States, by entering a “Y” for yes and “N” for no. For the purposes of this survey, shipments to Puerto
Rico and U.S. territories and possessions are considered exports.
• Foreign Destination, Column (M) – Only respond if answer in Column (L) is ‘Y’. Make sure Column
(J) and Column (K) only contain the domestic portion of the shipment (see above).

Foreign Destination
(for export shipments only)
Note: In column (J) enter the
U.S. port, airport, or border
crossing of exit

(J)
City
Los Angeles
Newark

CFS-1100 (7-7-2011)

State
CA
NJ

Export Mode

U.S. Destination or U.S. Exit Port
(Complete for all shipments)

Mode(s) of transport
to U.S. destination.
Enter all that apply in
order used. Use codes
at bottom.

Export? (Y/N)?

• Export Mode, Column (N) – Only respond if answer in Column (L) is ‘Y’. Enter the code for the mode
of transport by which the shipment left the country. Codes are located at the bottom of pages 5 and 7
of the questionnaire.

(M)
ZIP Code
90040
07105

(K)
2,4
4

(L)
Y
N

City
Beijing

Country
China

(N)
6

Page 5

Part I — Instructions for Completing Your Questionnaire — continued
Item H(1): Rush Deliveries
Check “yes” if any of the shipments reported in Item F required purchase of a faster level of service
(e.g., same day/overnight, 2-3 business days, or faster service arrangement provided by hired carriers).
If not, check “no” and skip to contact information.

Item H(2): Rush Deliveries
If “yes” in H(1) list the number of shipments reported in F that required the specific type of rush delivery
services listed. Enter a number for each type of service.

Item G: Monthly Value of Outbound Shipments
Check the box that corresponds to the total value of all outbound shipments from this location for the
most recently completed calendar month.

Contact

Please enter the name and telephone number of the person to contact in the event that we have a
question about your report.

Remarks
Use this space to clarify your responses, if appropriate; or to note any critical business changes that
have recently occurred or are forthcoming.

Page 6

CFS-1100 (7-7-2011)

Part II — Mode of Transportation Definitions
Parcel delivery/Courier/U.S. Parcel Post – Includes ground and air shipments of packages and parcels that
each weigh less than 100 pounds, and are transported by a for-hire carrier.
Private truck – Trucks operated by employees of this establishment or the buyer/receiver of the shipment.
Includes trucks providing dedicated services to this establishment.
For-hire truck – Shipments by common or contract carriers made under a negotiated rate.
Railroad – Any common carrier or private railroad.
Inland water – Barges, ships, or ferries operating primarily in navigable waters, both within and along the
borders of the United States, such as:
• Rivers (examples: the Mississippi River and Saint Lawrence Seaway);
• Lakes (examples: the Great Lakes);
• Along the shoreline but actually in the ocean (examples: Intracoastal Waterway along the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the Inside Passage of Alaska);
• Canals, harbors, major bays, and inlets.
Deep Sea – Barges, ships, or ferries operating primarily in the open waters of the ocean, outside the borders of
the United States.
Pipeline – Movements of oil, petroleum, gas, slurry, etc. through pipelines that extend to other establishments
or locations beyond the shipper’s establishment. (Aqueducts for the movement of water are not included.)
Air – Any individual package shipped by air that weighs 100 pounds or more.
Other mode – Any mode not listed above.
Unknown – A shipment where you are unable to determine the mode of transportation.

Note: Transportation equipment that is "shipped" under its own power, such as boats, barges, ferries,
ships, aircraft, trucks, and trains should be classified with the appropriate mode above. Transportation
equipment shipped under its own power for which an appropriate mode is not listed (e.g., buses,
recreational vehicles) should be listed as "other" mode.

Page 7

CFS-1100 (7-7-2011)

Part III — State Postal Abbreviation List
State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Dist. of Col.
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri

Page 8

Abbreviation
AL
AK
AZ
AR
CA
CO
CT
DE
DC
FL
GA
HI
ID
IL
IN
IA
KS
KY
LA
ME
MD
MA
MI
MN
MS
MO

State
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Abbreviation
MT
NE
NV
NH
NJ
NM
NY
NC
ND
OH
OK
OR
PA
RI
SC
SD
TN
TX
UT
VT
VA
WA
WV
WI
WY

CFS-1100 (7-7-2011)