BE-30 37 Supporting Statement B 2021 FINAL

Supporting Statement
U.S. Department of Commerce
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Quarterly Survey of Ocean Freight Revenues and Foreign Expenses of U.S. Carriers
(BE-30) and Quarterly Survey of U.S. Airline Operators’ Foreign Revenues and Expenses
(BE-37) OMB Control Number: 0608-0011
B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
1. Describe (including a numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe and any
sampling or other respondent selection method to be used. Data on the number of entities
(e.g. establishments, State and local governmental units, households, or persons) in the
universe and the corresponding sample are to be provided in tabular form for the universe
as a whole and for each of the strata in the proposed sample. Indicate expected response
rates for the collection as a whole. If the collection had been conducted previously, include
the actual response rate achieved during the last collection.
The potential respondent universe for the BE-30 survey is all U.S. ocean 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. Reports are required from U.S. ocean
carriers whose total covered revenues or total covered expenses were $500,000 or more in the
previous calendar year or are expected to be $500,000 or more during the current calendar year.
BE-30 Universe, Sample, and Response Rate
Number of U.S.
ocean carriers
engaging in covered
transactions
Universe
50
Sample
Nonsample
Report exemption claim or
voluntary data
Response rate

Percent of U.S.
ocean carriers
engaging in covered
transactions
100%

48

96%

0
2

0%
4%

80%

80%

The potential respondent universe for the BE-37 survey is all 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. Reports are required from U.S. operators
whose total covered revenues or total covered expenses were $500,000 or more in the previous
calendar year or are expected to be $500,000 or more during the current calendar year.

BE-37 Universe, Sample, and Response Rate
Number of U.S.
airline operators
engaging in covered
transactions
Universe
30
Sample

28

94%

0
2

0%
6%

90%

90%

Nonsample
Report exemption claim or
voluntary data
Response rate

Percent of U.S.
airline operators
engaging in covered
transactions
100%

BEA intends to mail a notification letter to approximately 50 U.S. ocean carriers and 30 U.S.
airline operators per quarter informing the companies of the requirement to file the BE-30 and
BE-37 surveys, respectively, and providing links to eFile, BEA’s electronic filing system. To
ensure a high response rate to the survey, two rounds of delinquency notices will also be mailed,
approximately a month apart, after the due date for the previous letter has passed, for companies
who have failed to report. BEA staff will also call required U.S. companies to remind them of the
requirement to comply with the survey and offer filing assistance to those who may need it.
2. Describe the procedures for the collection, including: the statistical methodology for
stratification and sample selection; the estimation procedure; the degree of accuracy
needed for the purpose described in the justification; any unusual problems requiring
specialized sampling procedures; and any use of periodic (less frequent than annual) data
collection cycles to reduce burden.
The BE-30 survey will be administered to owners and operators of U.S. ocean carriers that
transport freight, cargo, and/or passengers between U.S. and foreign ports or between foreign
ports who meet the reporting thresholds for the covered revenues or covered expenses, as
mentioned in B.1. above. The BE-37 survey will be administered to 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, who meet the reporting
thresholds for covered revenues or covered expenses, as mentioned in B.1. above. BEA expects
most of the potential respondents to file the surveys on a timely basis. BEA will estimate data for
respondents that do not report their data in a timely manner, including those that fall below the
reporting thresholds. Estimates will be based on prior reports and growth in the value of
transactions from a matched sample of respondents. BEA will allocate the estimated data by
country and by type of transaction based on the distribution of reported transactions for inclusion
in the published totals. Thus, estimates will cover the entire universe of transactions. No unusual
problems have been identified that would require the use of specialized sampling procedures.
The list of respondents will be derived from public and private sources, including business
directories and establishment lists.

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3. Describe the methods used to maximize response rates and to deal with issues of nonresponse. The accuracy and reliability of the information collected must be shown to be
adequate for the intended uses. For collections based on sampling, a special justification
must be provided for any collection that will not yield "reliable" data that can be
generalized to the universe studied.
Any company specifically contacted by BEA must respond by filing a completed form BE-30 or
BE-37 or a valid exemption claim. Non-respondents will be contacted by BEA staff through
delinquency notices and phone calls and, in the event of continued nonresponse, will be referred
to the Office of General Counsel for further action. BEA expects that at the time of the final
revised estimates, reports will be received from nearly all companies required to report. To
facilitate response, a notice will be sent to each company on a quarterly basis notifying the
company of the requirement to file the survey and providing links to eFile, BEA’s electronic
filing system, and PDF and Excel versions of the survey.
The data collected on the BE-30 and BE-37 surveys are needed to measure U.S. trade in
transport services and to analyze the impact of U.S. trade on the U.S. and foreign economies.
The data are used to support U.S. trade policy initiatives, including trade negotiations, and to
compile the U.S. international transactions and the national income and product accounts. The
response rates described in B.1., together with the estimation procedures described in B.2.,
provide information of sufficient accuracy and reliability for the intended purpose.
4. Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken. Tests are encouraged as
effective means of refining collections of information to minimize burden and improve
utility. Tests must be approved if they call for answers to identical questions from 10 or
more respondents. A proposed test or set of tests may be submitted for approval separately
or in combination with the main collection of information.
No tests were conducted. Recent efforts to seek feedback from data users and survey
respondents are described in A.8.
5. Provide the name and telephone number of individuals consulted on the statistical
aspects of the design, and the name of the agency unit, contractor(s), grantee(s), or other
person(s) who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency.
The surveys are designed and conducted within BEA by the Balance of Payments Division. For
further information, contact Christopher Stein via email at christopher.stein@bea.gov or by
phone at 301-278-9189. The survey proposal was reviewed and approved by BEA’s Source Data
Improvement and Evaluation Program (SDIEP). The SDIEP coordinator is Tiffany Burrell,
tiffany.burrell@bea.gov, 301-278-9618.

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