Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories & Orders to the Department of Defense

Appendix B

FROM THE MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION DIVISION

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting the Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders to the Department of Defense (M3DOD) Survey. This survey collects shipments, inventories, and unfilled orders data from domestic manufacturing establishments; the data collected will be used in the development of estimates for industries with defense manufacturing activities in the monthly Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) survey.

The M3 survey measures monthly current industrial activity and provides an indication of future production; it is a principal economic indicator and is critical to assessing current economic activity. The M3DOD survey will be conducted every five years to obtain a current allocation between defense and non-defense manufacturing. With your participation in the M3DOD survey, the monthly M3 survey will provide a more accurate estimate of the magnitude of defense activities in the manufacturing sector.

The law (Title 13, United States Code) requires your response to this survey. By Section 9 of the same law, your report to the Census Bureau is confidential. It may be seen only by persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau information and may be used only for statistical purposes. The law also provides that copies retained in your files are immune from legal process.

Please read the instructions located on the back of the form carefully. If actual figures are not available, estimates may be used. Please return the completed form by June 30, 2008. If you need additional time to complete the report or have any questions or comments, contact the M3 staff on 301-763-4832. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Thomas E. Zabelsky

Chief, Manufacturing and Construction Division