BE-30_37 Supporting Statement B 2024_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 (as detailed in A.2.) 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. The list of respondents will be derived from prior reporters of the BE-30 quarterly survey and public and private sources, including business directories and establishment lists.

BE-30 Universe, Sample, and Response Rate

	Number of U.S. persons engaging in covered transactions
Universe Sample Nonsample Report exemption claim or voluntary data Response rate	50 48 0 2 80%

*Response rate is based on average response rates for the 2021-2024 BE-30 survey.

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 passengers or freight between two foreign points (as detailed in A.2.) 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. The list of respondents will be derived from prior reporters of the BE-37 quarterly survey and public and private sources, including business directories and establishment lists.

BE-37 Universe, Sample, and Response Rate

	Number of U.S. persons engaging in covered transactions
Universe Sample Nonsample Report exemption claim or voluntary data Response rate	30 28 0 2 90%

*Response rate is based on average response rates for the 2021-2024 BE-37 survey.

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 passengers or freight between two foreign points, who meet the reporting thresholds for covered revenues or covered expenses, as mentioned in B.1. above.

Data for those reporting less detailed information as well as for missing reports will be statistically estimated and added to the reported data. These estimates will be based on previously reported quarterly data 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. For additional detail of BEA’s estimation techniques for the BE-30 and BE-37 surveys, see “U.S. International Economic Accounts: Concepts and Methods” on BEA’s website.

3. Describe the methods used to maximize response rates and to deal with issues of non-response. 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. 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 a PDF version of the survey.

To ensure a high response rate to the survey delinquency notices will also be mailed after the due date for survey 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, and in the event of continued nonresponse, may 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.

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 survey is 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.