BE-29 Supporting Statement B 2024_Final

Supporting Statement

U.S. Department of Commerce

Bureau of Economic Analysis

Annual Survey of Foreign Ocean Carriers’

Expenses in the United States (Form BE-29)

OMB Control Number: 0608-0012

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-29 survey is all U.S. agents of foreign ocean carriers that handled 40 or more foreign ocean carrier port calls during the calendar year, or had total covered expenses (as detailed in A.2.) of $250,000 or more during the calendar year, for all foreign ocean vessels handled by the U.S. agent. The list of respondents will be derived from prior reporters of the BE-29 annual survey and public and private sources, including business directories and establishment lists.

BE-29 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	80 70 0 10 80%

*Response rate is based on average response rates for the 2022-2024 BE-29 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-29 survey will be administered to U.S. agents of foreign ocean carriers that handled foreign ocean carrier port calls and met the survey requirements 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 annual 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-29 survey, 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-29 or a valid exemption claim. To facilitate response, a notice will be sent to each company at the end of each year 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.

Delinquency notices will also be mailed to companies that have failed to report after the due date for survey has passed to ensure a high response rate. 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.