2017 Commodity Flow Survey

Attachment A2
CFS-1100
(06-11-2016)

2017 Commodity Flow Survey
INSTRUCTION GUIDE
This guide provides additional information to help you answer each question of the Commodity
Flow Survey (CFS).
To complete the CFS online:
1. Please visit https://econhelp.census.gov/cfs
2. Click on the “Survey Log in” button
3. Use the user ID and password provided on your letter or first page of the
questionnaire
4. Instructions and other useful tools to complete the CFS online can be found on the
website (see 1 above)
5. If you need to contact us by telephone, call us at 1-800-772-7851, option “3”, between
8:30am and 5:00pm Eastern Time

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

CONTENTS
SECTION 1 – INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Item A – Verification of Name and Shipping Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Item B – Verification of Name and Mailing Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Item C – Operating Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Item D – Total Number and Value of Outbound Shipments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Item D1 – Total Number of Outbound Shipments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Item D2 – Total Value of Outbound Shipments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Item D3 – Obtaining a Sample of Shipments to Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Item E – Sampling Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Item F – Shipment Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Item G – Verification of Primary Industry Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Item H – Time to Complete Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Item I – Contact Information Regarding This Survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Item J – Remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
SECTION 2 – MODE OF TRANSPORTATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
SECTION 3 – STATE POSTAL ABBREVIATION LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

CFS-1100 (06-11-2016)

SECTION 1 — INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE

Item A – Verification of Name and Shipping Address
Verify that the name and shipping address listed in the textbox are correct from where your
shipments originate. If the name and shipping address are correct, mark an (X) in the “Yes”, the
name and shipping address are correct” box and continue to Item B on page 2. If any component
of the name and shipping address is incorrect, mark the “No, the name and/or shipping address
is incorrect” box and make the corrections in the space provided for each address component in
Item A.
Item B – Verification of Name and Mailing Address
Mark an (X) in the box that correctly identifies the name and mailing address. If the shipping
location can receive mail and has access to the information asked, mark the appropriate box
and proceed to Item C.
If you prefer the future CFS correspondence to be sent elsewhere, as to a headquarters or office
building that reports for the physical shipping location, mark the appropriate box and use the
space provided to enter the preferred mailing address.
Item C – Operating Status
Mark an (X) in the box that best describes this location’s operating status during the designated
reporting week. If this location’s operating status is described as either “Temporarily or
seasonally inactive” and made no outbound shipments during the designated reporting week,
mark an (X) in the appropriate box, proceed to Item G – ”Verification of Primary Industry Activity".
If this location’s operating status is described as “Ceased operation” and made no outbound
shipments during the designated reporting week, mark an (X) in the appropriate box, enter the
date the location ceased operation and proceed to Item G – ”Verification of Primary Industry
Activity”. If the location was sold or acquired, select the "In operation" box and describe these
operations changes in Item J – “Remarks”.
Item D – Total Number and Value of Outbound Shipments
Item D1 – Total Number of Outbound Shipments
An outbound shipment is a movement of commodities from your location to another
single location, in one trip.
A single shipment may have multiple pieces, and go by multiple vehicles, such as unit
trains or truck convoys, but only one destination. For example, a full truckload should be
counted as a single shipment only if all the commodities on the truck are destined for one
location. For a less than truckload (LTL), only that part of the load that is transported from
the same origin and is delivered to the same destination in one delivery is counted as one
shipment.
On the other hand, commodities sent from your location to multiple destinations
constitute multiple shipments. Each location on the route to which your commodities
are delivered is considered one shipment.

CFS-1100 (06-11-2016)

Page 1

SECTION 1 — INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE – Continued

Item D – Total Number and Value of Outbound Shipments – Continued
Item D1 – Total Number of Outbound Shipments – Continued
"Commodities" refer to items that this location produces, sells, or distributes. Waste
products of your location’s operation (that have no value for your location) are not
considered commodities and should not be reported.
In the space provided, enter the total number of outbound shipments for the one-week
reporting period printed in Item D1.
Shipments to Include:
• Any materials picked up by the customer (“customer pick-up”)
• Only those shipments that were sent from the address listed in Item A
• Shipments made from the location listed on A on behalf of another establishment
(Drop-Shipments)
• Shipments of commodities of all sizes, by any mode of transportation (e.g., parcels,
truck, railroad)
• Any shipment of products from this location to another location of the company
that are intended for sale (e.g., products moved from this location to a company
warehouse)
Shipments to Exclude:
• Drop-shipments, made from another location other than the shipping address in
Item A
• Internal administrative items such as inter-office memos, payroll checks,
business correspondence
• Promotional items sent to potential customers free of charge
• Refuse and waste items such as scrap paper, waste, and recyclable materials
unless this location is in the business of selling these materials
• Items moved from this location to another location of the company if not intended
for commercial activity (e.g., the transfer of office furniture to be used at another
location of this company)
Item D2 – Total Value of Outbound Shipments
Enter the total value in dollar amount for the outbound shipments you reported in D1.
The value should not include freight charges or excise taxes (i.e., report the net selling
value, freight on board plant). If the value is not readily available from your records,
please estimate.
Item D3 – Obtaining a Sample of Shipments to Report
Mark an (X) in the appropriate box in Item D3 to indicate whether you have reported
more than 40 shipments in Item D1.
If "Yes" is marked, continue with Item E on page 3 to determine the sample of
shipments that your location should report in Item F.
If "No" is marked, proceed to Item F beginning on page 4 and report the information
requested for all shipments made during the assigned week.

Page 2

CFS-1100 (06-11-2016)

SECTION 1 — INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE – Continued

Item E – Sampling Instructions
If you have more than 40 outbound shipments for the one-week reporting period, report only a
sample of them in Item F. Using the table in Item E, locate the row that includes the number of
outbound shipments you reported in Item D1 and the corresponding “report every” number.
Mark an (X) in the space provided.
We need a representative sample of all outbound shipments that you reported for the week in
Item D1. When sampling your shipments, please use all your files that reflect the full range
of your location shipping activities, regardless of modes of transportation used, type of
commodities or products shipped, customers, or destinations.
If you still have questions about the sampling process (or any part of the questionnaire) call us
at 1–800–772–7851, option “3”, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.
Item F – Shipment Characteristics
Most businesses will be asked to report at most 40 shipments in Item F. However, businesses
that ship a high volume of commodities might be asked to report on up to 80 shipments - to
capture the diversity of goods and destinations to which they ship. Pages 8-11 of the questionnaire
are provided just in case more than 40 shipments need to be reported in Item F.
• Shipment ID Number, Column (B) – Enter the invoice number, shipment number,
or some other unique identification number that your location could use to find this
particular shipping document if questions arise regarding your report.
• Shipment Date, Column (C) – Enter the month and day of the shipment. If shipment
date is not available, use the invoice/shipping document date. Use numbers only.
• Shipment Value, Column (D) – Enter the dollar value, in whole dollars, of the entire
shipment. The value should not include freight charges or excise taxes, i.e., report the
net selling value, Freight On Board plant (FOB plant). If the value is not readily available
from your records, please estimate.
• Net Shipment Weight, Column (E) – Enter the net weight of the total shipment in
whole pounds. If net weight is not readily available from your records, please estimate.
Convert all other types of measurements to whole pounds. If you are not able to
express the weight in pounds, please state in Item J – “Remarks”, the unit you are
reporting in. Estimates are acceptable.
• SCTG Commodity Code, Column (F) – Use the list of commodity codes provided
in the accompanying 2017 Standard Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG)
Commodity Codes booklet to select the proper 5-digit code. For shipments with more
than one commodity, enter only the code for the commodity with the greatest weight.
Mixed freight categories are also available for some of the commodity groups in the
SCTG Manual. For assistance in locating the appropriate commodity code, refer to the
alphabetized quick reference at the beginning of the 2017 SCTG Commodity Codes
booklet. An electronic version of this booklet is also available at
https://econhelp.census.gov/cfs.

CFS-1100 (06-11-2016)

Page 3

SECTION 1 — INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE – Continued

Item F – Shipment Characteristics – Continued
• Commodity Description, Column (G) – Enter a brief description of the commodity
shipped. For shipments with more than one commodity, describe only the commodity
with the greatest weight. Do not use trade names, catalog numbers, or other codes not
familiar to persons outside your business.
• Temperature Controlled, Column (H) – If the item described in column (G) requires
temperature controlled, enter “Y” for Yes otherwise enter “N” for No in column H. In this
survey, a temperature controlled shipment is defined as a shipment that needs to be,
and is transported in a vehicle, container, or special packaging that either actively (by the
use of an on board powered system), or passively (either with or without coolants)
regulates, or maintains the required temperature range (e.g. warm, cold, frozen) of the
shipment during all phases of the transportation.
Example: If the item listed in column (G) is a pharmaceutical product that is required to
be shipped in a foam container to regulate the temperature of the item, you would enter
“Y” for yes it was temperature-controlled.
• Hazardous Materials, Column (I) – If the item described in column (G) is a hazardous
material, enter the 4-digit United Nations (UN) or North American (NA) number.
For a mixed shipment, in which the heaviest item is required to be reported is not a
hazmat, but other commodities in the shipment are hazmat, the shipment should not be
marked as hazmat, and column (I) should be left blank.

If you prefer to complete the questionnaire online, please go to https://econhelp.census.gov/cfs

Item F

SHIPMENT CHARACTERISTICS

Net
Shipment
Weight
in pounds.
Estimates
acceptable.
(E)

(F)

(G)

SCTG
commodity
code from
accompanying
booklet

1

Commodity Description

1

(D)

Ex.1 123-5

4

26

224,235

4,840

34520

Mechanical machinery

Y

Ex.2

4

26

1,375

50,125

20222

Sulfuric acid

N

(A)

(B)

402H

(H)

Is item in
col (G) a
hazardous
material?
Enter "UN"
or "NA"1
number
(I)

Continue with
column (J) on page 5

(C)

Shipment value
(excluding
freight charges
and excise taxes)
in whole dollars.
Estimates
acceptable.

Is item in col. (G)
Temperature 1, 2
controlled? (Y/N)

Shipment
Date

Day

Your
Shipment
ID
Number

For shipments consisting of more than one commodity, report the code
and description of the commodity that contributed the greatest weight
of the shipment in columns (F) through (I)

Month

Line No.

NOTE: Each line runs across pages 4 and 5. After entering column (I) data on page 4
for any line, continue with column (J) on page 5 for the same line.

➜
1830

➜

1

➜

2

➜

Page 4

CFS-1100 (06-11-2016)

SECTION 1 — INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE – Continued

Item F – Shipment Characteristics – Continued
• U.S. Destination or U.S. Exit Port, Column (J) – For domestic shipments, enter the
city, state, and 5-digit ZIP Code of the buyer/receiver’s "ship to" address as it appears
on the shipping document. Do not spell out the state name, rather use the two-letter state
postal abbreviation shown in the State Postal Abbreviation List in Section 3 of this guide.
For Customer Pick-ups only, enter the customer’s address. If unknown, enter this
location’s shipping address.
Important – For export shipments, report the U.S. port of exit as the destination city.
The port of exit is the port, airport, or the border crossing from which the shipment left
the country.
• Mode(s) of Transport to U.S. Destination, Column (K) – Enter the code(s) for all
modes of transport used for the shipment to its U.S. destination. For your reference, mode
of transport codes are listed below Item F on the bottom of pages 5, 7, 9, and 11 of the
questionnaire. Please refer to Section 2 for further information about the modes of
transport. Enter all modes used in the sequence in which the modes are used.
Do not use commas (,), dashes (-), or spaces to separate each mode.
Do not include the export mode of transport in this column – the export mode should be
reported in Column (N).
For Customer Pick-ups – Report the mode(s) of transportation used, if known.
Otherwise, report mode as "0" (unknown).
• Export, Column (L) – Indicate whether the shipment is intended for export outside of the
United States, by entering a “Y” for yes and “N” for no. For the purposes of this survey,
shipments to Puerto Rico and U.S. territories and possessions are considered exports.
• Foreign Destination, Column (M) – Only respond if answer in Column (L) is "Y". Enter
the foreign city and country of destination. Make sure Column (J) and Column (K) only
contain the domestic portion of the shipment.

CFS-1100 (06-11-2016)

Page 5

SECTION 1 — INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE – Continued

Item F – Shipment Characteristics – Continued
• Export Mode, Column (N) – Only respond if the shipment is an export and answer in
Column (L) is "Y". Enter the code for the mode of transport by which the shipment left the
country. For your reference, mode codes are listed below Item F on pages 5, 7, 9, and 11
of the questionnaire. Refer to Section 2 for more information about modes of transport.
If you prefer to complete the questionnaire online, please go to https://econhelp.census.gov/cfs

Mode(s) of
transport to
U.S. destination.

(J)
City

State

ZIP Code

Enter all that
apply in
order used.
Use codes
at bottom.

Export mode

*For customer pick-ups, see below

Foreign Destination
(for export shipments only)
Export? (Y/N)

U.S. Destination or U.S. Exit Port
(Complete for all shipments.)

Note: In column (J) enter the U.S. port,
airport, or border crossing of exit.
(M)

(K)

(L)

City

Country

(N)

Beijing

China

6

Los Angeles

CA

90040

24

Y

Newark

NJ

07105

4

N

Item G – Verification of Primary Industry Activity
Your location’s primary industry activity is listed in Item G. If you agree with the primary activity
listed, please mark the “Yes” box. If you disagree with the primary activity listed, please mark
the “No” box and write a description of your industry in the box provided.
Item H – Time to Complete Survey
Enter the total time that was needed to complete this survey up to this question. Include the time
it took to read the instructions, to gather the information needed, and to enter and verify the data.
Also, include time by all staff who contributed to completing the survey. If completing this survey
took one hour and thirty minutes, enter “1” in the box before “Hours” and “30” in the box before
“Minutes”.
Item I – Contact Information Regarding This Survey
Enter your name, title, phone, and fax number in the event that we have any questions about
your survey.
Item J – Remarks
Use this space for your remarks, for clarifying your responses, or for stating any critical
business changes that have recently occurred or are forthcoming (e.g., closures, plant
renovations, merges, etc.).
Page 6

CFS-1100 (06-11-2016)

SECTION 2 — MODE OF TRANSPORTATION

CODE

MODE

1

Parcel delivery/Courier/U.S. Parcel Post – Includes shipments of packages
that each weigh 150 pounds or less, and are transported by a for-hire carrier.

2

Company-owned truck – Trucks operated by employees of this location or
the buyer/receiver of the shipment. This includes trucks providing dedicated
services to this location.

3

For-hire truck – Shipments by common or contract carriers made under a
negotiated rate.

4

Railroad – Any common carrier or private railroad.

5

Inland water – Barges, ships, or ferries operating primarily in navigable
waters, both within and along the borders of the United States, such as:
Rivers – Examples: the Mississippi River and Saint Lawrence Seaway
Lakes – Examples: the Great Lakes
Along the shoreline but actually in the ocean –
Examples: Intracoastal Waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts
and the Inside Passage of Alaska
Canals, harbors, major bays, and inlets

6

Deep sea – Barges, ships, or ferries operating primarily in the open waters of
the ocean, outside the borders of the United States.

7

Pipeline – Movements of petroleum, gas, slurry, etc. through pipelines that
extend to other locations or locations beyond the shipper’s location. (Aqueducts
for the movement of water are not included.)

8

Air – Any shipment sent via air mode.

9

Other mode – Any mode not listed above.

0

Unknown – Unable to determine the mode of transportation.

Note: Transportation equipment that is "shipped" under its own power, such as boats, barges,
ferries, ships, aircraft, trucks, and trains should be classified with the appropriate mode
above. Transportation equipment shipped under its own power for which an appropriate
mode is not listed (e.g., buses, recreational vehicles) should be listed as "other mode".

CFS-1100 (06-11-2016)

Page 7

SECTION 3 – STATE POSTAL ABBREVIATION LIST

Alabama. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
District of Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Indiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Iowa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Michigan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Minnesota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page 8

AL
AK
AZ
AR
CA
CO
CT
DE
DC
FL
GA
HI
ID
IL
IN
IA
KS
KY
LA
ME
MD
MA
MI
MN
MS
MO

Montana . . . . . .
Nebraska. . . . . .
Nevada . . . . . . .
New Hampshire .
New Jersey . . . .
New Mexico. . . .
New York . . . . .
North Carolina . .
North Dakota . . .
Ohio . . . . . . . . .
Oklahoma . . . . .
Oregon . . . . . . .
Pennsylvania . . .
Rhode Island . . .
South Carolina. .
South Dakota. . .
Tennessee . . . .
Texas . . . . . . . .
Utah . . . . . . . . .
Vermont . . . . . .
Virginia . . . . . . .
Washington . . . .
West Virginia . . .
Wisconsin . . . . .
Wyoming . . . . . .

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MT
NE
NV
NH
NJ
NM
NY
NC
ND
OH
OK
OR
PA
RI
SC
SD
TN
TX
UT
VT
VA
WA
WV
WI
WY

CFS-1100 (06-11-2016)