Mq-c2

MQ-C2-I
(7-2015)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

INSTRUCTIONS FOR
THE QUARTERLY SURVEY OF PLANT CAPACITY UTILIZATION

Page
General Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Item by Item Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Item 1 – Operational Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Item 2 – Value of Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Item 3 – Actual and Full Production Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Item 4 – Work Patterns for The Quarter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Item 5 – National Emergency Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

AUTHORITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY – The
Census Bureau conducts the survey under the
authority of Title 13 U.S.C., Section 8(b); 50 U.S.C.,
Section 98, et. seq; and 12 U.S.C., Section 244.
Your response is voluntary. By section 9 of
Title 13 U.S.C., your report 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 of your report
retained in your files are immune from legal
process.

WHEN TO REPORT
Complete the survey form and return it in the
enclosed return envelope by the date printed on the
top of the form. If you have misplaced the return
envelope, mail the completed form to:
U.S. Census Bureau
1201 East 10th Street
Jeffersonville, IN 47132-0001
You can also fax the form to:
1–800–447–4613
HOW TO REPORT

PUBLIC REPORTING

INTERNET REPORTING – We encourage you to
complete this survey online at:
HTTPSECONHELP.census.gov/pcu. We have
provided your 5ser)$ and password on the front
of the form under the address label.

Public reporting burden for this collection of

information is estimated to average 2 hours and
5
minutes per response, including time for reviewing

instructions, searching existing data sources,

gathering and maintaining the data needed, and

completing and reviewing the collection of

information. Send comments regarding this burden

estimate or any other aspect of this collection of

information, including suggestions for reduciNG
THISburden, to: Econ Survey Comments 0607-0175,
U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road,

EMD-8K122, Washington, DC 20233. You may email
comments to %CON3URVEY#OMMENTS@
census.gov;
use "Econ Survey Comments 0607-0175" as the
subject.

Answer all questions on the report form. Follow the
instructions for each item given on this sheet.
Report market value of production figures in
thousands of dollars. For example, if value of
production is 1,125,788 dollars, enter the figure as
follows:

9OUARENOTREQUIREDTORESPONDTOTHISCOLLECTIONOF
INFORMATIONIFITDOESNOTDISPLAYAVALIDAPPROVAL
NUMBERFROMTHE/FFICEOF-ANAGEMENTAND"UDGET
/-" 4HEEIGHT
DIGIT/-"NUMBERIS

ANDAPPEARSINTHEUPPERRIGHTCORNEROFTHEREPORT
FORM

Mil.

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1

126

NAME AND ADDRESS
Review the name and address of this plant printed in
the top right corner of the report form. Line out any
errors and make any necessary corrections or
additions in the address box.

WHO SHOULD REPORT?
Item 1 – OPERATIONAL STATUS

This report covers the manufacturing plant or
publishing facility named in the address box of the
form. If your company operates more than one
location, REPORT ONLY FOR THOSE PLANTS
SELECTED FOR THIS SAMPLE SURVEY. A report
form and instruction sheet are enclosed for each
plant selected. If the location in the address box is
not a manufacturing plant or publishing facility,
indicate this in the remarks section.

Report the status of operations at this plant at the
end of the quarter by marking the appropriate box.
If:
In Operation – Complete items 2 through 6.
Idle Plants – Complete items 2 through 6.
a. If this plant was temporarily idle during the entire
quarter report actual operations as zero where
appropriate.

Since some of the information necessary to
complete this form may not be in your records,
CONSULT THE PLANT MANAGER on questions
regarding full production capability and emergency
production.

b. If this plant was temporarily idle during only part
of the quarter report the actual operations for the
time the plant was in operation.

WHAT TO REPORT?

For both cases, report full production capabilities
based on the plant’s peak quarterly production
during the year.

This survey form primarily asks for 2 levels of
operating capability of this plant for the quarter :

(1) the market value of actual goods produced;

Permanently Ceased Operations – Indicate the
month and year when operations ceased at this
plant. If the plant was in operation at ANY time
during the quarter, complete items 2 through 6.
Report full production capabilities as if the plant
operated the entire quarter.

(2) the value of products that could have been
produced if the plant was operating at full
capacity during the quarter.
If prior quarter data are NOT printed on the form,
you do not need to enter data for that period.
MQ-C2-I (7-2015)

Page 2

Item 1 – OPERATIONAL STATUS – Continued

the form. Do not include any printing that is
contracted out. If you do not perform any printing
activities, please indicate so in the remarks
section on the back of the form.

Sold or Leased Plant – If this plant was sold or
leased to another company, indicate the month and
year this action took place, and the name and
address of the new owner.

Item 2b – FULL PRODUCTION CAPABILITY

a. If you still maintain records for this plant, complete
items 2 through 6.
b. If you do not have information about
this plant, complete item 6 only and return the form.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Seasonal Operations
a. If this plant is usually temporarily idle during the
quarter due to seasonal factors, report as instructed
for idle plants.
b. If this plant was not temporarily idle during the
quarter, but its operations vary substantially from
quarter to quarter, due to seasonal factors, complete
items 2 through 6, and report full production
capabilities based on the plant’s peak quarterly
production during the year.
Item 2 – VALUE OF PRODUCTION
Item 2a – MARKET VALUE OF ACTUAL
PRODUCTION
Report the value of production based on estimated
sales price(s) of what was produced during the
quarter, not quarter sales. If production at this plant
consists of only interplant transfers, use method (2)
below to calculate market value of production.

Read the definition and assumptions regarding full
production capability. Estimate your market value of
products that would have been produced if the plant
was operating at full capacity during the quarter. Use
one of the two methods suggested below or your
own computations.
Full Production Capability – The maximum level
of production that this establishment could
reasonably expect to attain under normal and
realistic operating conditions fully utilizing the
machinery and equipment in place. In estimating
market value at full production capability, consider
the following:
• Assume only the machinery and equipment in place
and ready to operate will be utilized. Do not include
facilities or equipment that would require extensive
reconditioning before they can be made operable.
• Assume normal downtime, maintenance, repair,
and cleanup. If full production requires additional
shifts or hours of operation, then appropriate
downtime should be considered in the estimate.
• Assume number of shifts, hours of plant operations,
and overtime pay that can be sustained under
normal conditions and a realistic work schedule.
• Assume labor, materials, utilities, etc. are fully
available.
• Assume a product mix that was typical or
representative of your production during the quarter.
If your plant is subject to short-run variation assume
the same product mix as the actual production.
• Do not assume increased use of productive facilities
outside the plant for services (such as contracting
out subassembly work) in excess of the proportion
that would be normal during the quarter.

Three methods – to estimate market value of goods
produced during the quarter:
(1) Estimate the sales price(s) of item(s) produced,
then multiply the sales price(s) by the total
number of items produced during the quarter.
(2) Use book figures of actual production costs plus
an estimate of markup to cover overhead and
profit.
(3) Use quarter value of shipments f.o.b. (freight on
board) from the plant (including the value of
interplant transfers within a company, in addition
to direct costs of production, but excluding
resales and miscellaneous receipts) plus any
additions or subtractions to the finished stock of
inventories present before the current quarter
(excluding materials and supplies). [Value of
production = value of shipments + value of
ending inventory – value of beginning inventory].

SPECIAL NOTE:

SPECIAL NOTE:

Two Methods to estimate market value of
production when operating at full production
capability:

Job shops and custom orders: For full production,
estimate the market value of work that you could
have accomplished under sustainable operating
conditions and if you had sufficient orders.
Publishing/printing plants: For full production,
report printing sales for this location as if it were
running at peak circulation.

Do not include manufacturing contracted to others.
If you contract out all of your manufacturing, please
state this in the "Remarks" section, complete item 6,
and return the form.

(1) If you have a reliable or accurate estimate of your
plant’s sustainable capacity utilization rate:
Divide your market value of production at actual
operations (item 2a) by your current rate of
capacity utilization (in decimal form). For
example, if your value of actual operations during
the quarter is $1,200,000 and your plant is
currently at 80% capacity, divide $1,200,000 by
0.80 for a full production capability of $1,500,000.

Job shops and custom orders: For actual
production, report value of work done during the
current quarter.
Publishing/printing plants: For actual production,
report your printing sales only (NOT advertising
sales) for the location named in the address box of
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MQ-C2-I (7-2015)

Item 2b – FULL PRODUCTION CAPABILITY –
Continued
Capacity
Market value of
Actual Value of
/ Utilization = production at
Production
Rate
Full Capacity
Your plant’s capacity utilization rate should be based
on a capacity output measure that your plant could
have sustained under normal, not emergency,
conditions.

administrative, or support operations as additional
shifts. Do not consider overtime hours as additional
shifts. If the plant did not operate a second or third
shift, do not complete the corresponding columns.
Complete ALL items for each shift reported.
a. Days per week-in-operation – For each shift,
report the typical number of days per week-inoperation for the quarter. If your plant has
departments or assembly lines that operate varied
number of days within a shift, report days per
week-in-operation for the department operating
the greatest number of days per week for that
shift. For example, if one production line operates
7 days per week during the first shift and a second
production line operates 5 days per week during
the first shift, report that the first shift operates 7
days per week.

(2) For each product, estimate the number of items
that could have been produced if operating at full
production, as defined by the assumptions given.
Multiply the number of items produced by its
sales price (or market value). For example, if you
can produce 25,000 items in the quarter, under
full production criteria, and the sales price
(market value) for each item is $4.50, then
multiply 25,000 times $4.50 for a full production
capability of $112,500.
Number of
Sales price
Market value of
x (Market
= production at
items
produced
Value)
Full Capacity
If producing more than one product, sum the
market values of production at full production
estimated for each product (assuming the same
product mix) for a total value of full production for
the plant.
Enter your estimate for value of full production in
item 2b.

b. Plant hours per week-in-operation – For each
shift, report the typical number of hours the
plant was in operation during a single week. If
your plant has departments or assembly lines that
operate at varied periods of time within a shift,
report hours per week-in-operation for the
production department operating the greatest
number of hours per week for that shift. Do not
report the number of person hours worked
(see below).
c. Weeks-in-operation in the quarter – For each
shift, report the total number of weeks the plant
operated during the quarter. NOTE: The quarter
covers 13 weeks.

Item 2c – CAPACITY UTILIZATION

d. Number of production workers ( including
temporary workers) – For each shift, report the
number of production workers at this establishment,
including both permanent (payroll) and temporary
employees who were paid during the second week
of the second month of the quarter. Include all
persons on paid sick leave, paid holidays, paid
vacation during this pay period.

(1) Divide your estimate for actual production (Item
2a) by full production (Item 2b) capability. Multiply
this number by 100. Enter this percentage in the
box.
(2) Is this a reasonable estimate of your
utilization rate for this quarter? Mark (X) yes
or no. If no, please review your full production
capability estimate. If yes, continue with the next
item.

NOTE: Include workers (up through the
line-supervisor level) engaged in fabricating,
processing, assembling, inspecting, receiving,
packing, warehousing, shipping (but not
delivering), maintenance, repair, janitorial, guard
services, product development, auxiliary
production for plant’s own use (e.g., power plant),
record keeping, and other closely associated
services. Include truck drivers delivering
ready-mixed concrete.

Item 3 – ACTUAL AND FULL PRODUCTION
COMPARISONS
Item 3a – FULL PRODUCTION CAPABILITY:
CURRENT QUARTER VS. PREVIOUS
QUARTER
If the value of full production for the current quarter
differs from the previous quarter, mark (X) the
primary reasons for the change.

Exclude nonproduction personnel, including those
engaged in supervision above line-supervisor level,
sales, sales delivery (truck drivers and helpers),
advertising, credit, collection, installation and
servicing of own product, clerical and routine office
functions, executive, purchasing, finance, legal,
personnel (including cafeteria, etc.), professional
and technical.

Item 3b – ACTUAL OPERATIONS VS. FULL
PRODUCTION CAPABILITY
Compare the actual value of production to the
estimated value of full production in the quarter.
Mark (X) reasons why your actual operations were
less than the estimated value of full production
capability, if appropriate.

e. Number of temporary production workers –
Report the number of temporary production workers
not on the payroll (hired through temporary help
agencies or as their own agent) and working during
the second week of the second month of the quarter.
Include temporary production workers who perform
the same tasks as listed above. Do not include
part-time workers.

Item 4 – WORK PATTERNS FOR THE QUARTER
Actual Operations – Report work patterns for the
following characteristics covering each production
shift of actual operations during the quarter. Report
based on the average number of shifts per day
during the quarter. Do not consider maintenANce,
MQ-C2-I (7-2015)

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Item 5 – NATIONAL EMERGENCY PRODUCTION

SPECIAL NOTE

Read the definition and assumptions regarding
national emergency production. Estimate your value
of production under national emergency conditions
for the quarter. Use your own computations or
methods similar to those described for estimating
full production capability.

Jobs shops and custom orders: For national
emergency production, estimate the market value of
work that could have been done if you received
additional orders assuming maximum number of
employees working multiple shifts that the facility
can accommodate.

SPECIAL NOTE: Your value of production at national
emergency levels should be greater than or equal
to your value of full production capability. If it is less
than your full production capability, please review
your computations.

Publishing/printing plants: For national
emergency production, report value of printing if
operating machinery as close to 168 hours/week as
possible.
Item 5b – Select a time period that would have been
reasonable to increase output to emergency
production level. Include time to hire and train labor
force.

Item 5a – National Emergency Production – The
maximum level of production that this plant could
expect to attain and sustain for one year or more
under national emergency conditions.

If you have any questions concerning the
definitions or instructions, please contact the
Special Reimbursable Surveys Branch of the
Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division on
1–800–201–4647 option 5 or visit our help site
at HTTPSeconhelp.census.gov/pcu .

National emergency conditions are situations, such
as a military mobilization or natural disaster, which
are likely to create widespread excess demand
requiring additional work shifts.
For example, military mobilization may require
increased production of food, clothing, building
supplies, and conversion of plants to produce
alternative products in addition to traditional defense
hardware. Devastation from natural disasters, such
as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, or fire, may
require increased production of similar goods as
well as increased production to compensate for
plants damaged or destroyed.
In estimating national emergency production,
consider the following:
• Assume full use of all machinery and equipment in
place (including machinery and equipment that
would require extensive reconditioning before they
could be made operable).
• Assume minimal downtime and multi-work shift
operations.
• Assume plant production as close to 168 hours per
week as possible, including extra shifts (e.g.,
operating 7 days per week, 24 hours per day less
minimal downtime).
• Assume overtime pay, availability of labor,
materials, utilities, etc., are fully available to
you and your suppliers.
• Assume you can sell all your output.
• Assume your product mix can change.
• Assume increased use of productive facilities outside
the plant for services (such as contracting out
subassembly work) in excess of the proportion that
would be normal during the quarter.

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MQ-C2-I (7-2015)