Manufacturers' Unfilled Orders Survey

MA-3000-L1

FROM THE MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION DIVISION

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting Manufacturers’ Unfilled Orders Survey. This survey collects data on sales and unfilled orders for 2008 and 2009 from domestic manufacturing companies; the data collected will be used in the development of estimates of monthly unfilled orders in the 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 Council of Economic Advisers, other government agencies, and many business economists need this information to gauge current business conditions and to formulate alternative economic and business policies. The Manufacturers’Unfilled Orders survey will provide benchmark totals for the monthly series and improve the quality of the current estimates.

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 report company sales and unfilled orders for your total domestic manufacturing activities as printed on your form. Further instructions for completing the report form are on the back of the enclosed form. The list of major manufacturing activities to assist you in identifying the industry codes as defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is also included. Reasonable estimates are acceptable if actual values are not available.

Please return your completed form by April 20, 2010. If you have any questions concerning this survey, contact the M3 staff on 301-763-4832. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Thomas E. Zabelsky

Chief, Manufacturing and Construction Division

Enclosures