Mq-c2

MQ-E-C2-I
(02-2018)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economic and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

INSTRUCTIONS FOR
THE QUARTERLY SURVEY OF PLANT CAPACITY UTILIZATION

Page
General Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Survey Item Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Operational Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Value of Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Actual and Full Production Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Work Patters for The Quarter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
National Emergency Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

AUTHORITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY –
Title 13, United States Code, Section 8(b); Title 50,
United States Code, Section 98, et seq; and Title 12,
United States Code, Section 244, authorize the
Census Bureau to conduct this collection and to
request your voluntary assistance. The Census
Bureau is required by Title 13, United States Code,
Section 9, to keep your information confidential and
can use your responses only to produce statistics.
The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly
release your responses in a way that could identify
your business, organization, or institution. Per the
Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015,
your data are protected from cybersecurity risks
through screening of the systems that transmit
your data.

(1) the market value of actual goods produced;
(2) the value of products that could have been
produced if the plant was operating at full
capacity during the quarter.
WHEN TO REPORT
Complete the survey online at
https://econhelp.census.gov/pcu by the date printed
on the letter.
HOW TO REPORT
INTERNET REPORTING – You can complete this
survey online at: https://econhelp.census.gov/pcu .
We have provided your User ID and Password on
the front of the letter.

PUBLIC REPORTING

Answer all questions and follow the instructions
for each item given on this sheet.

We estimate this survey to take an average of 2
hours and 5 minutes to complete, including 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: ERD Survey Comments 0607-0175, U.S.
Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, ERD-6H128,
Washington, DC 20233. You may email comments
to erd.survey.comments@census.gov; use "ERD
Survey Comments 0607-0175" as the subject.

Report market value of production figures in
thousands of dollars. For example, if value of
production is 1,125,788 dollars, enter the figure as
follows:
Thou.

1

126

MAILING INFORMATION
Review the name and address of this plant and
make any necessary corrections to the mailing
information.

This collection has been approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). The eight-digit
OMB approval number is 0607-0175 and appears at
the upper right of the login screen. Without this
approval we could not conduct the survey.

OPERATIONAL STATUS
Report the status of operations at this plant at the
end of the quarter by marking the appropriate box.
If:

WHO SHOULD REPORT?
This report covers the manufacturing plant or
publishing facility named in the cover letter and in
the physical address box in our online application.
If your company operates more than one location,
REPORT ONLY FOR THOSE PLANTS SELECTED FOR
THIS SAMPLE SURVEY. A letter is enclosed for each
plant selected. If the location on the letter is not a
manufacturing plant or publishing facility, indicate
this in the remarks section. If you are in the
publishing industry, please check the box that you
outsource all printing activity on the Outsource
Printing screen which follows the Physical Address
and Mailing Information screen.

In Operation – Complete all items.
Idle Plants – Complete all items.
a. If this plant was temporarily idle during the
entire quarter report actual operations as zero
where appropriate.
b. If this plant was temporarily idle during only
part of the quarter report the actual
operations for the time the plant was in
operation.
For both cases, report full production capabilities
based on the plant’s peak quarterly production
during the year.

Since some of the information necessary to
complete this survey may not be in your records,
CONSULT THE PLANT MANAGER on questions
regarding full production capability and emergency
production.

Permanently Ceased Operations – Indicate the
month and year when operations ceased at this
plant. If the plant was in operation at ANY time
during the quarter, complete all items. Report full
production capabilities as if the plant operated the
entire quarter.

WHAT TO REPORT?
This survey primarily asks for 2 levels of operating
capability of this plant for the quarter:
MQ-E-C2-I (02-2018)

Mil.

Page 2

Do not include any printing that is contracted out.
If you do not perform any printing activities,
please check the box that you outsource all
printing activities on the Outsource Printing
screen which follows the Physical Address
and Mailing Information screen.

OPERATIONAL STATUS – Continued
Sold or Leased Plant – If this plant was sold or
leased to another company, indicate the month and
year this action took place, and the name and
address of the new owner.
a. If you still maintain records for this plant,
complete all items.

Full Production Capability
Read the definition and assumptions regarding full
production capability. Estimate your market value
of products that would have been produced if the
plant was operating at full capacity during the
quarter. Use one of the two methods suggested
below or your own computations.

b. If you do not have information about this plant,
complete contact info and submit.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Seasonal Operations
a. If this plant is usually temporarily idle during the
quarter due to seasonal factors, report as
instructed for idle plants.
b. If this plant was not temporarily idle during the
quarter, but its operations vary substantially from
quarter to quarter, due to seasonal factors,
complete all items and report full production
capabilities based on the plant’s peak quarterly
production during the year.

Full Production Capability – The maximum level
of production that this establishment could
reasonably expect to attain under normal and
realistic operating conditions fully utilizing the
machinery and equipment in place. In estimating
market value at full production capability, consider
the following:
• Assume only the machinery and equipment in
place and ready to operate will be utilized. Do not
include facilities or equipment that would require
extensive reconditioning before they can be made
operable.
• Assume normal downtime, maintenance, repair,
and cleanup. If full production requires additional
shifts or hours of operation, then appropriate
downtime should be considered in the estimate.
• Assume number of shifts, hours of plant operations,
and overtime pay that can be sustained under
normal conditions and a realistic work schedule.
• Assume labor, materials, utilities, etc. are fully
available.
• Assume a product mix that was typical or
representative of your production during the
quarter. If your plant is subject to short-run
variation assume the same product mix as the
actual production.
• Do not assume increased use of productive
facilities outside the plant for services (such as
contracting out subassembly work) in excess of the
proportion that would be normal during the quarter.

VALUE OF PRODUCTION
Market Value of Actual Production
Report the value of production based on estimated
sales price(s) of what was produced during the
quarter, not quarter sales. If production at this plant
consists of only interplant transfers, use method (2)
below to calculate market value of production.
Three methods – to estimate market value of
goods produced during the quarter:
(1) Estimate the sales price(s) of item(s) produced,
then multiply the sales price(s) by the total
number of items produced during the quarter.
(2) Use book figures of actual production costs plus
an estimate of markup to cover overhead and
profit.
(3) Use quarter value of shipments f.o.b. (freight on
board) from the plant (including the value of
interplant transfers within a company, in
addition to direct costs of production, but
excluding resales and miscellaneous receipts)
plus any additions or subtractions to the finished
stock of inventories present before the current
quarter (excluding materials and supplies).
[Value of production = value of shipments +
value of ending inventory - value of beginning
inventory].

SPECIAL NOTE:
Job shops and custom orders: For full
production, estimate the market value of work that
you could have accomplished under sustainable
operating conditions and if you had sufficient
orders.
Publishing/printing plants: For full production,
report printing sales for this location as if it were
running at peak circulation.

SPECIAL NOTE:

Two Methods to estimate market value of
production when operating at full production
capability:
(1) If you have a reliable or accurate estimate of
your plant’s sustainable capacity utilization rate:
Divide your market value of production at
actual operations by your current rate of
capacity utilization (in decimal form). For
example, if your value of actual operations during
the quarter is $1,200,000 and your plant is
currently at 80% capacity, divide $1,200,000 by
0.80 for a full production capability of $1,500,000.

Do not include manufacturing contracted to others.
If you contract out all of your manufacturing, please
state this in the "Remarks" section.
Job shops and custom orders: For actual
production, report value of work done during the
current quarter.
Publishing/printing plants: For actual production,
report your printing sales only (NOT advertising
sales) for the location named in the physical address
box.
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MQ-E-C2-I (02-2018)

operations as additional shifts. Do not consider
overtime hours as additional shifts. If the plant did
not operate a second or third shift, do not complete
the corresponding columns. Complete ALL items for
each shift reported.

Full Production Capability – Continued
Actual Value of / Capacity = Market value of
Utilization
production at
Production
Rate
Full Capacity
Your plant’s capacity utilization rate should be based
on a capacity output measure that your plant could
have sustained under normal, not emergency,
conditions.

a. Days per week-in-operation – For each shift,
report the typical number of days per week-inoperation for the quarter. If your plant has
departments or assembly lines that operate
varied number of days within a shift, report days
per week-in-operation for the department
operating the greatest number of days per week
for that shift. For example, if one production line
operates 7 days per week during the first shift
and a second production line operates 5 days per
week during the first shift, report that the first
shift operates 7 days per week.

(2) For each product, estimate the number of items
that could have been produced if operating at
full production, as defined by the assumptions
given. Multiply the number of items produced by
its sales price (or market value). For example, if
you can produce 25,000 items in the quarter,
under full production criteria, and the sales price
(market value) for each item is $4.50, then
multiply 25,000 times $4.50 for a full production
capability of $112,500.
Number
of items
produced

X

b. Plant hours per week-in-operation – For each
shift, report the typical number of hours the
plant was in operation during a single week. If
your plant has departments or assembly lines that
operate at varied periods of time within a shift,
report hours per week-in-operation for the
production department operating the greatest
number of hours per week for that shift. Do not
report the number of person hours worked.

Sales Price
Market value of
= production at
(Market
Value)
Full Capacity

If producing more than one product, sum the
market values of production at full production
estimated for each product (assuming the same
product mix) for a total value of full production for
the plant.

c. Weeks-in-operation in the quarter – For each
shift, report the total number of weeks the plant
operated during the quarter. NOTE: The quarter
covers 13 weeks.

Enter your estimate for value of full production.
Full Utilization Rate

d. Number of production workers (including
temporary workers) – For each shift, report the
number of production workers at this
establishment, including both permanent (payroll)
and temporary employees who were paid during
the second week of the second month of the
quarter. Include all persons on paid sick leave,
paid holidays, paid vacation during this pay
period.

(1) Your full utilization rate is calculated by dividing
your estimate for actual production by full
production capability and multiplying this
number by 100.
(2) Is this a reasonable estimate of your
utilization rate for this quarter? Mark (X) yes
or no. If no, please review your full production
capability estimate. If yes, continue with the next
item.

NOTE: Include workers (up through the
line-supervisor level) engaged in fabricating,
processing, assembling, inspecting, receiving,
packing, warehousing, shipping (but not delivering),
maintenance, repair, janitorial, guard services,
product development, auxiliary production for
plant’s own use (e.g., power plant), record keeping,
and other closely associated services. Include truck
drivers delivering ready-mixed concrete.

ACTUAL AND FULL PRODUCTION
COMPARISONS
Full Production Capability: Current Quarter vs.
Previous Quarter
If the value of full production for the current quarter
differs from the previous quarter, mark (X) the
primary reasons for the change.
Actual Operations vs. Full Production
Capability
Compare the actual value of production to the
estimated value of full production in the quarter.
Mark (X) reasons why your actual operations were
less than the estimated value of full production
capability, if appropriate.

Exclude nonproduction personnel, including those
engaged in supervision above line-supervisor level,
sales, sales delivery (truck drivers and helpers),
advertising, credit, collection, installation and
servicing of own product, clerical and routine office
functions, executive, purchasing, finance, legal,
personnel (including cafeteria, etc.), professional
and technical.

WORK PATTERNS FOR THE QUARTER

e. Number of temporary production workers –
Report the number of temporary production
workers not on the payroll (hired through
temporary help agencies or as their own agent)
and working during the second week of the second
month of the quarter. Include temporary production
workers who perform the same tasks as listed
above. Do not include part-time workers.

Report work patterns for the following characteristics
covering each production shift of actual operations
during the quarter. Report based on the average
number of shifts per day during the quarter. Do not
consider maintenance, administrative, or support

MQ-E-C2-I (02-2018)

Page 4

NATIONAL EMERGENCY PRODUCTION

SPECIAL NOTE:

Read the definition and assumptions regarding
national emergency production. Estimate your value
of production under national emergency conditions
for the quarter. Use your own computations or
methods similar to those described for estimating
full production capability.

Jobs shops and custom orders: For national
emergency production, estimate the market value of
work that could have been done if you received
additional orders assuming maximum number of
employees working multiple shifts that the facility
can accommodate.

SPECIAL NOTE: Your value of production at national
emergency levels should be greater than or equal
to your value of full production capability. If it is less
than your full production capability, please review
your computations.

Publishing/printing plants: For national
emergency production, report value of printing if
operating machinery as close to 168 hours/week as
possible.

National Emergency Production – The maximum
level of production that this plant could expect to
attain and sustain for one year or more under
national emergency conditions.

Actual Operations vs. National Emergency
Production Capabilities – Select a time period that
would have been reasonable to increase output to
emergency production level. Include time to hire and
train labor force.

National emergency conditions are situations, such
as a military mobilization or natural disaster, which
are likely to create widespread excess demand
requiring additional work shifts.

If you have any questions concerning the
definitions or instructions, please contact the
Special Reimbursable Surveys Branch of the
Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division on
1-800-201-4647 option 5 or visit our help site
at https://econhelp.census.gov/pcu .

For example, military mobilization may require
increased production of food, clothing, building
supplies, and conversion of plants to produce
alternative products in addition to traditional
defense hardware. Devastation from natural
disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes,
or fire, may require increased production of similar
goods as well as increased production to
compensate for plants damaged or destroyed.
In estimating national emergency production,
consider the following:
• Assume full use of all machinery and equipment
in place (including machinery and equipment that
would require extensive reconditioning before they
could be made operable).
• Assume minimal downtime and multi-work shift
operations.
• Assume plant production as close to 168 hours per
week as possible, including extra shifts (e.g.,
operating 7 days per week, 24 hours per day less
minimal downtime).
• Assume overtime pay, availability of labor,
materials, utilities, etc., are fully available to
you and your suppliers.
• Assume you can sell all your output.
• Assume your product mix can change.
• Assume increased use of productive facilities
outside the plant for services (such as contracting
out subassembly work) in excess of the proportion
that would be normal during the quarter.

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MQ-E-C2-I (02-2018)