PRA 2126-0008 Supporting Statement 01.06.20

Department of Transportation
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Financial Responsibility for Motor Carriers of Passengers and

Motor Carriers of Property

INTRODUCTION

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) submits to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) its request to renew a currently-approved information collection request (ICR) titled, “Financial Responsibility for Motor Carriers of Passengers and Motor Carriers of Property,” covered by OMB Control Number 2126-0008. This ICR is due to expire on January 31, 2020.

Part A. Justification

1. CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MAKE THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION NECESSARY

Sections 29 and 30 of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 (codified at 49 U.S.C. § 31139, see Attachment A) require the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to promulgate regulations that establish minimum levels of financial responsibility for motor carriers of property to cover public liability, property damage, and environmental restoration. Section 18 of the Bus Regulatory Reform Act of 1982 (codified at 49 U.S.C. § 31138, see Attachment B) requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations that establish minimum levels of financial responsibility for for-hire motor carriers of passengers to cover public liability and property damage.

The Endorsement for Motor Carrier Policies of Insurance for Public Liability, Forms MCS-90 (Attachment C) and MCS-90B (Attachment D); and the Motor Carrier Public Liability Surety Bond Forms MCS-82 (Attachment E) and MCS-82B (Attachment F) contain the minimum amount of information necessary to document that a motor carrier has obtained, and has in effect, the required levels of financial responsibility as set forth in applicable regulations (motor carriers of property—49 CFR § 387.9; and motor carriers of passengers—49 CFR § 387.33T, both at Attachment G). These regulations require that such carriers of property and passengers may not operate until they have obtained minimum levels of financial responsibility—49 CFR § 387.7(a)(property), 387.31(a)(passengers).

The currently-approved information collection supports the Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) Strategic Goal of “Safety” because the information concerns the safe operation of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) by drivers who operate in interstate commerce on the Nation’s highways.

2. HOW, BY WHOM, AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE IS THE INFORMATION USED

FMCSA and the public use the information collected to verify that a motor carrier of property or passengers has obtained, and has in effect, the required minimum levels of financial responsibility. It is mandated that motor carriers maintain proof of the required financial responsibility at their principal places of business, available upon request of an FMCSA safety investigator during investigations or audits. Insurance endorsements and surety bonds are considered public information and must be produced by a motor carrier of property or a motor carrier of passengers for review upon reasonable request by a member of the public.

Motor carriers domiciled in Canada, Mexico, and non-North America (NNA) domiciled carriers who transport property or conduct passenger transportation operations within the United States must obtain an insurance endorsement or surety bond. All vehicles operated in the United States by these motor carriers must have a legible copy of the insurance endorsement or surety bond in the vehicle available to Federal or State enforcement officials during roadside inspections.

This ICR has been disaggregated into five information collections (ICs) as follows:

1. IC-1, Form MCS-90B, Endorsement for Motor Carrier Policies of Insurance for Public Liability Under Section 18 of the Bus Regulatory Reform Act of 1982.

2. IC-2, Form MCS-90, Endorsement for Motor Carrier Policies of Insurance for Public Liability Under Sections 29 and 30 of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980.

3. IC-3, Form MCS-82B, Motor Carrier Public Liability Surety Bond Under Section 18 of the Bus Regulatory Reform Act of 1982.

4. IC-4, Form MCS-82, Motor Carrier Public Liability Surety Bond Under Sections 29 and 30 of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980.

5. IC-5, Placing Documents in Vehicles. Carriers domiciled in Canada, Mexico and non-North America (NNA) must place legible copies of the carriers’ insurance endorsements or surety bonds in all vehicles operated in the United States.

3. EXTENT OF AUTOMATED INFORMATION COLLECTION

The endorsements (Forms MCS-90/90B) and surety bonds (Forms MCS-82/82B) are not submitted to FMCSA. Insurance companies and agents provide these forms directly to motor carriers to document that required levels of insurance are in place. For this reason, FMCSA has little information on the extent to which insurers prepare and transmit these forms electronically or through other automated means. There are no FMCSA requirements that would prohibit or interfere with automation of this information collection between insurers and insured motor carriers.

4. EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY DUPLICATION

There are no similar financial responsibility paperwork burdens made with any other Federal agency or within the DOT that would result in duplication of this information.

5. EFFORTS TO MINIMIZE THE BURDEN ON SMALL BUSINESSES

The requirement to obtain and have in effect a minimum level of financial responsibility applies to many for-hire motor carriers of non-hazardous property in interstate or foreign commerce and most for-hire and private motor carriers of hazardous waste, hazardous materials, and hazardous substances, in interstate, foreign, or intrastate commerce. However, private motor carriers that transport hazardous waste and certain hazardous materials not in bulk, in intrastate commerce, and private motor carriers that transport non-hazardous property in intrastate or interstate commerce, are not subject to any FMCSA minimum levels of financial responsibility. A significant portion of the motor carriers subject to this information collection are small businesses. FMCSA cannot further reduce the burden without neglecting statutory obligations.

The requirement to obtain and have in effect a minimum level of financial responsibility applies to all for-hire motor carriers of passengers in interstate commerce, regardless of size, subject to exceptions. However, motor carriers of passengers that only operate vehicles with a seating capacity of 15 passengers or fewer have a lower required level of financial responsibility ($1,500,000) than motor carriers of passengers that operate vehicles with a seating capacity of 16 passengers or more ($5,000,000). ⁽¹⁾ FMCSA cannot further reduce the burden without neglecting statutory obligations.

6. IMPACT OF LESS FREQUENT COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

An insurance endorsement may be required to be completed by a motor carrier upon one of the following events: (1) the establishment of a new motor carrier operation subject to the financial responsibility requirements, (2) an operational change to the type of carriage (property) or change in seating capacity of vehicles operated (passenger) which changes the required level of financial responsibility, (3) a change in the amount of primary insurance, (4) a change of the insurance policy number, (5) the issuance of a new insurance policy, or (6) the replacement of a surety bond with an insurance policy.

A surety bond may be required to be completed by a motor carrier upon one of the following events: 1) the establishment of a new motor carrier operation subject to the financial responsibility requirements, (2) a change to the type of carriage (property) or change in seating capacity of vehicles operated (passenger) which changes the required level of financial responsibility, or (3) the replacement of an insurance policy with a surety bond.

The frequency of this information collection cannot be reduced. The elimination of this information collection would hinder the ability of FMCSA to ensure that motor carriers of property and passengers have in effect an appropriate level of financial responsibility for the types of commodities transported (property) or seating capacity (passenger) of vehicles operated on the public highways.

7. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

There are no special circumstances with this information collection.

8. COMPLIANCE WITH 5 CFR 1320.8

On October 1, 2019 FMCSA published a 60-day notice (84 FR 52164) in the Federal Register requesting public comments on the proposed revision of this information collection. FMCSA received two comments. One was from an anonymous commenter which was not relevant to the information collection. The National School Transportation Association submitted a letter supporting the Agency’s proposal to renew the information collection. FMCSA will publish a 30-day Federal Register notice (84 FR 71527).

9. PAYMENTS OR GIFTS TO RESPONDENTS

Respondents are not provided with any payment or gift for this information collection.

10. ASSURANCE OF CONFIDENTIALITY

These records are not confidential.

11. JUSTIFICATION FOR COLLECTION OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. ESTIMATE OF BURDEN HOURS FOR INFORMATION REQUESTED

Assumptions for Burden Estimates

Motor carriers of property or passengers generally obtain their required level of financial responsibility through a policy of insurance or a surety bond, unless they utilize the self-insurance provisions of 49 CFR 387.309. The insurance endorsement (MCS-90 and MCS-90B) is completed by the motor carrier’s insurance company, but must be maintained by the motor carrier of property or passengers. The insurer files the BMC-91 and BMC-91X as proof of evidence of this endorsement. The surety bond (MCS-82 and MCS-82B) is completed by the motor carrier’s surety company, but must be obtained by the motor carrier. Data from FMCSA’s Licensing and Insurance (L&I) database indicate that there have been, on average, 230 active insurers ⁽²⁾ filing the BMC-82 as proof of evidence of the surety bonds (MCS-82 and MCS-82B) per year, from 2016 through 2018. Active insurers are those that have submitted filings for motor carriers during the specified timeframe. This is a negligible change from the previous revision of this supporting statement, which cited 231 active insurers filing surety bonds. FMCSA estimates that the current population (insurers filing insurance policies), if it has remained as stable as the number of insurers filing surety bonds did, is 896. Based on previous iterations of this information collection, FMCSA continues to estimate that the completion of either form takes approximately 2 minutes to complete.

As required by 49 CFR 387.7(d) and 49 CFR 387.31(d), the insurance endorsement or surety bond must be maintained at the motor carrier’s principal place of business. FMCSA assumes this will result in an additional burden of 1 minute per carrier for the retention of surety bonds and/or insurance endorsements. Finally, Mexican-, Canadian-, and NNA-domiciled carriers are required to place copies of insurance endorsements or surety bonds in their commercial motor vehicles (49 CFR 387.7(f) and 49 CFR 387.31(f); see both at Attachment G); this activity is assumed to take 1 minute per vehicle. Numbers may not total due to rounding.

An average of 221,537 total carriers file evidence of financial responsibility with FMCSA per year, based on data contained in the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) for calendar years 2016 through 2018. This universe of carriers is the best estimate FMCSA has of the carrier’s subject to this information collection. It is possible that the carrier universe subject to the information collection is larger, but for the purposes of this ICR, FMCSA is basing its estimates on the available data. The paperwork requirements for carriers not domiciled in the United States are slightly different from those domiciled in the United States. Table 1 shows the number of carriers subject to this information collection, by country. Included with the figures for Mexico are three NNA-domiciled property carriers.

Table 1. Average annual carriers subject to information collection requirements.

Carrier Type	U. S.	Mexico & NNA	Canada	Total
Passenger Carriers	3,988	6	284	4,278
Property Carriers	204,897	4,869	7,493	217,259
Total	208,886	4,875	7,776	221,537

Source: FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) and L&I Database as of 12/28/2018, 12/29/2017, 12/30/2016, accessed March 2019.

Information Collections 1-4: Preparing Insurance Endorsements and Surety Bonds

All motor carriers subject to the financial responsibility requirements, regardless of where they are domiciled, will have insurance endorsements or surety bonds prepared for them by their insurers. The Agency examined activity in its L&I database for calendar years 2016, 2017, and 2018 to estimate the information collection burden associated with the ICs 1-4 in the future.

Data shown in Table 2 (below) are total counts for calendar years 2016 through 2018, with the annual average presented in the final column.

Table 2. Insurance endorsement and surety bond information collection activity for U.S., Mexico/NNA-domiciled, and Canadian property and passenger carriers, 2016-18.

Information Collection Type	Form	U. S.	Mexico & NNA	Canada	Total	Annual Average
Insurance Endorsements: Passenger Carriers	(IC-1) MCS-90B	4,948	6	329	5,283	1,761
Insurance Endorsements: Property Carriers	(IC-2) MCS-90	273,375	5,897	9,455	288,727	96,242
Insurance Endorsements: All	IC-1 and IC-2	278,323	5,903	9,784	294,010	98,003
Surety Bonds: Passenger Carriers	(IC-3) MCS-82B	0	0	0	0	0
Surety Bonds: Property Carriers	(IC-4) MCS-82	1,772	3	57	1,832	611
Surety Bonds: All	IC-3 and IC-4	1,772	3	57	1,832	611
	TOTAL	280,095	5,906	9,841	295,842	98,614

Source: FMCSA’s MCMIS and L&I Database as of 12/28/2018, 12/29/2017, 12/30/2016, accessed March 2019.

The annual burden was estimated by multiplying the annual average number of responses of each type of document (see the final column in Table 2, above) by the time burden estimated for each document. As stated, both forms are assumed to take 2 minutes to complete, and require 1 minute of filing time for the retention of the documents.

Table 3 presents the annual burden calculations associated with the information collections set forth in this ICR.

Table 3. Estimated annual burden for information collections.

Information Collection Type	Information Collection Activity	Form	Estimated Annual Responses	Burden Minutes per Response	Annual Burden (Hours)
Insurance Endorsements: Passenger Carriers	Document Preparation	(IC-1a) MCS-90B	1,761	2	58.70
	Document Storage	(IC-1b) MCS-90B	1,761	1	29.35
Insurance Endorsements: Property Carriers	Document Preparation	(IC-2a) MCS-90	96,242	2	3,208.06
	Document Storage	(IC-2b) MCS-90	96,242	1	1,604.03
Insurance Endorsements: Total			196,006	–	4,900.14
Surety Bonds: Passenger Carriers	Document Preparation	(IC-3a) MCS-82B	0	2	–
	Document Storage	(IC-3b) MCS-82B	0	1	–
Surety Bonds: Property Carriers	Document Preparation	(IC-4a) MCS-82	611	2	20.37
	Document Storage	(IC-4b) MCS-82	611	1	10.18
Surety Bonds: Total			1,222	–	30.55
TOTAL			197,228	–	4,930.69

Source: FMCSA’s MCMIS and L&I Database as of 12/28/2018, 12/29/2017, 12/30/2016, accessed March 2019.

For the information collections 1-4 above, which require entities to prepare insurance endorsements and surety bonds, FMCSA estimates the annual number of responses at 197,228:

1,761		IC-1a Passenger Carrier Insurance Endorsements: Document Preparation
+	1,761	IC-1b Passenger Carrier Insurance Endorsements: Document Storage
+	96,242	IC-2a Property Carrier Insurance Endorsements: Document Preparation
+	96,242	IC-2b Property Carrier Insurance Endorsements: Document Storage
+	0	IC-3a Passenger Carrier Surety Bonds: Document Preparation
+	0	IC-3b Passenger Carrier Surety Bonds: Document Storage
+	611	IC-4a Property Carrier Surety Bonds: Document Preparation
+	611	IC-4b Property Carrier Surety Bonds: Document Storage
197,228		Total Estimated Annual Responses

The estimated annual burden for information collections 1-4 is 4,931 hours (rounded):

58.70 hours		IC-1a Passenger Carrier Insurance Endorsements: Document Preparation
	29.35 hours	IC-1b Passenger Carrier Insurance Endorsements: Document Storage
+	3,208.06 hours	IC-2a Property Carrier Insurance Endorsements: Document Preparation
+	1,604.03 hours	IC-2b Property Carrier Insurance Endorsements: Document Storage
+	0 hours	IC-3a Passenger Carrier Surety Bonds: Document Preparation
+	0 hours	IC-3b Passenger Carrier Surety Bonds: Document Storage
+	20.37 hours	IC-4a Property Carrier Surety Bonds: Document Preparation
+	10.18 hours	IC-4b Property Carrier Surety Bonds: Document Storage
4,931 hours		Total Estimated Annual Burden

This represents an increase of 866 burden hours from the 4,065 burden hours for these activities included in the previously approved burden estimates.

Information Collection 5: Placing Financial Responsibility Documents in Vehicles

Mexican-, Canadian-, and NNA-domiciled carriers must place legible copies of a carrier’s insurance endorsements or surety bonds in all vehicles operated in the United States. FMCSA used data from MCMIS to estimate the average number of vehicles per carrier. Each new accepted filing noted in L&I is assumed to be associated with the replacement of documents in vehicles. Table 4 shows the estimated number of vehicles into which new documents will be placed each year.

Table 4. Estimated annual number of Canadian and Mexican/NNA-domiciled vehicles affected by information collection 5.

Carrier Type/Domicile	Average Accepted Filings	Average Number of Vehicles		Total Vehicles
Passenger Carriers: Canada	109.67	9.66		1,059.41
Property Carriers: Canada	3,152.67	11.54		36,381.81
IC-5a: Canada Total:	3,262.34	–		37,441.22
Passenger Carriers: Mexico and NNA	2	13.79		27.58
Property Carriers: Mexico and NNA	1,965.67	5.6		11,007.75
IC-5b: Mexico and NNA Total:	1,967.67	–		11,035.33
TOTAL:			48,476.55

Source: FMCSA’s MCMIS and L&I Database as of 12/28/2018, 12/29/2017, 12/30/2016, accessed March 2019.

As stated above, FMCSA estimates that it takes 1 minute to place new copies of financial responsibility documents in each vehicle. Table 5 shows the total amount of estimated paperwork burden for this activity.

Table 5. Estimated annual burden associated with information collection 5 (placing required insurance endorsement and/or surety bond documents in vehicles).

Carrier Type/Domicile	Responses (# Vehicles)	Burden Minutes per Response	Estimated Annual Burden (Hours)
Passenger Carriers: Canada	1,059.41	1	17.66
Property Carriers: Canada	36,381.81	1	606.36
IC5a: Canada Total		37,441.22	624.02
Passenger Carriers: Mexico and NNA	27.58	1	0.46
Property Carriers: Mexico and NNA	11,007.75	1	183.46
IC5b: Mexico and NNA Total		11,035.33	183.92
TOTAL		48,476.55	807.94

Source: FMCSA’s MCMIS and L&I Database as of 12/28/2018, 12/29/2017, 12/30/2016, accessed March 2019.

For placing financial responsibility documents in each vehicle, the estimated number of responses is 48,476.55. This represents an increase of approximately 5,773 (5,772.55) from the 42,704 responses this activity included in the previously approved paperwork burden estimates.

37,441.22		Canada-domiciled carriers
+	11,035.33	Mexico- and NNA-domiciled carriers
48,476.55		Estimated Number of Responses

The estimated annual burden is 807.94 hours (rounded):

624.02 hours		Canada-domiciled carriers
+	183.92 hours	Mexico- and NNA-domiciled carriers
807.94 hours		Estimated Annual Burden

This represents an increase of approximately 96 (95.94) hours from the estimated 712 hours for this activity included in the previously approved paperwork burden estimates.

Total Estimated Burden Hours

Table 6 presents a summary of these paperwork burden estimates and a comparison to the previously-approved estimates.

Table 6. Summary of annual burden for all activities, with comparison to previously approved estimates.

Information Collection	Responses			Annual Burden Hours
	New* (2019)	Old** (2015)	Revision	New* (2019)	Old** (2015)	Revision
ICs 1-4: Document Preparation	98,614	81,306	+17,308	3,287.13	4,065	−777.87
ICs 1-4: Document Storage	98,614	–	+98,614	1,643.56	–	+1,643.56
IC-5	48,476.55	42,704	+5,772.55	807.94	712	+95.94
Total	245,704.55	124,010	+121,694.55	5,738.63	4,777	+961.63

*Source: FMCSA’s MCMIS and L&I Database as of 12/28/2018, 12/29/2017, 12/30/2016, accessed March 2019.

**Old represents the following source information: FMCSA’s Licensing and Insurance (L&I) Database as of 12/14/2012, 12/27/2013, 12/19/2014, accessed July 2015.

Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 250,934 respondents (rounded)

1,761		Insurance Underwriters for IC1a
+	1,761	Motor Carrier Clerks for IC1b
+	96,242	Insurance Underwriters for IC2a
+	96,242	Motor Carrier Clerks for IC2b
+	0	Insurance Underwriters for IC3a
+	0	Motor Carrier Clerks for IC3b
+	611	Insurance Underwriters for IC4a
+	611	Motor Carrier Clerks for IC4b
+	3,262.34	Motor Carrier Clerks Canada for IC5a
+	1,967.67	Vehicle Maintenance Staff Mexico and NNA for IC5b
250,934.01		Estimated Number of Respondents

Estimated Annual Number of Responses: 245,705 responses (rounded)

1,761		Document Preparation Responses for IC1
+	1,761	Document Retention Responses for IC1
+	96,242	Document Preparation Responses for IC2
+	96,242	Document Retention Responses for IC2
+	0	Document Preparation Responses for IC3
+	0	Document Retention Responses for IC3
+	611	Document Preparation Responses for IC4
+	611	Document Retention Responses for IC4
+	37,441.22	Document Placement in Vehicles for IC5: Canada
+	11,035.33	Document Placement in Vehicles for IC5: Mexico and NNA
245,704.55		Estimated Number of Responses

Estimate Annual Burden: 5,738 hours (rounded)

88		Annual burden hours for IC1
+	4,812	Annual burden hours for IC2
+	0	Annual burden hours for IC3
+	31	Annual burden hours for IC4
+	624	Annual burden hours for IC5: Canada
+	183	Annual burden hours for IC5: Mexico and NNA
5,738		Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours

Labor Costs

FMCSA assumes that generally three types of employees will complete the paperwork and recordkeeping burden associated with the financial responsibility regulations. The preparation of insurance endorsements and surety bonds would be done by staff at insurance and surety companies. Currently, U.S.- and Mexican-based carriers must use insurance and surety firms authorized to issue insurance in the United States. FMCSA does allow Canadian-based motor carriers to use Canadian-domiciled insurance companies. However, because FMCSA does not have data on labor costs for the small universe of Canada-domiciled motor carrier insurance companies, all insurance companies included in the labor cost estimates are assumed to be U.S.-domiciled, at the risk of overestimating the associated labor costs.

The retention of surety bonds and insurance endorsements at a motor carrier’s principal place of business, and the placement of copies of insurance endorsements and surety bonds in motor vehicles operated within the U.S. by motor carriers domiciled in a contiguous foreign country would be handled by motor carrier clerical staff and vehicle maintenance staff, respectively.

Table 7 presents the wage estimates used in this analysis. Loaded hourly wages are estimated by multiplying the median hourly wage (or in the case of Mexico, the minimum hourly wage) by the load factor. Median/minimum hourly wages for Canada and Mexico are converted to USD from CAD and MXN currency units, respectively. Additional details related to the calculation of load factors and the wages used in this analysis are presented in the supplementary notes and data sources for Table 7.

Table 7. Median and loaded hourly wages (USD) for financial responsibility information collection and recordkeeping activities.

Position	Load Factor*	United States		Canada		Mexico/NNA
		Median Hourly Wage	Loaded Hourly Wage	Median Hourly Wage†	Loaded Hourly Wage	Minimum Hourly Wage§	Loaded Hourly Wage
Insurance Underwriter	1.52	$33.23	$50.51	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Motor Carrier Clerk	1.57	$21.38	$33.57	$15.03	$23.60	$0.91	$1.43
Vehicle Maintenance Staff	1.57	N/A	N/A	$16.13	$25.32	$0.98	$1.54

^* The load factor for insurance underwriters is estimated by dividing the total cost of compensation for private industry workers of the insurance carriers and related activities series ($51.19) by the average cost of hourly wages and salaries ($33.64), as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics ($51.19/$33.64 = 1.52). The load factor for both motor carrier clerks and vehicle maintenance staff is estimated by dividing the total cost of compensation for private industry workers of the transportation and warehousing series ($40.49) by the average cost of hourly wages and salaries ($25.80), as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics ($40.49/$25.80 = 1.57). FMCSA was unable to obtain load factors for Canada and Mexico/NNA wages; as such, U.S. load factors are used to calculate loaded foreign wages, with the understanding that the resulting calculations may be overestimated.

^† Median hourly wages for Canada are converted to USD from CAD currency units. Statistics Canada lists the 2018 median hourly wage for “Office Support Occupations [4]” (assumed to be equivalent to “Motor Carrier Clerk”) as 20.51 CAD. Using a historical CAD to USD conversation rate of 0.7333 (as of December 31, 2018), 20.51 CAD = $15.03. Statistics Canada lists the 2018 median hourly wage for “Transportation and Heavy Equipment Operation and Related Maintenance Occupations” (assumed to be equivalent to “Vehicle Maintenance Staff”) as 22.00 CAD. Again, using a historical CAD to USD conversion rate of 0.7333, 22.00 CAD = $16.13.

^§ Minimum hourly wages for Mexico/NNA-domiciled carriers (calculated by dividing published minimum daily wages by 8 hours) are converted to USD from MXN currency units. Wage Indicator.org lists minimum wage for “General Worker” (assumed to be equivalent to “Motor Carrier Clerk”) as 176.72 MXN per day in the Free Trade Zone of the Northern Border and 102.68 per day in the country, except the Free Trade Zone. The average of these two figures is 139.70 MXN. This amounts to 17.46 MXN per hour (139.70/8 hours = 17.46). Using a MXN to USD conversion rate of 0.052, published July 22, 2019, 17.46 MXN = $0.91 USD. Wage Indicator.org lists minimum wage for “Mechanics for Automobiles and Trucks, Official” (assumed to be equivalent to “Vehicle Maintenance Staff”) to be 176.72 per day in the Free Trade Zone of the Northern Border and 125.41 MXN per day in the country, except the Free Trade Zone. The average of these two figures is 150.93 MXN. This amounts to 18.87 MXN per hour (150.93/8 hours = 18.87). Using a conversion rate of 0.052, published July 22, 2019, 18.87 MXN = $0.98 USD. For the purposes of this analysis, NNA wages are assumed to be the same as Mexico wages for the labor categories included in this table.

Data Sources:

Median Hourly U.S. Wages: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2018). “May 2018 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates.” (See 13-2053, Insurance Underwriters; https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_524000.htm and 43-4199, Information and Record Clerks, All Other; https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_48-49.htm.) Retrieved July 19, 2019, from: www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrci.htm.

Median Hourly Canada Wages: Statistics Canada. (2019). Table 14-10-0340-01: Employee wages by occupation, annual. (See “Office Support Occupations [4]” and “Transportation and Heavy Equipment Operation and Related Maintenance Occupations [75].”) Retrieved July 22, 2019, from https://doi.org/10.25318/1410034001-eng.

Minimum Hourly Mexico Wages: WageIndicator. (2019). “Minimum Wage – Minimum Wage in the country, except the Free Trade Zone” and “Minimum Wage – Minimum Wage in the Free Trade Zone of the Northern Border.” (See “General Worker” and “Mechanics for Automobiles and Trucks, Official.”) Retrieved July 22, 2019, from https://wageindicator.org/salary/minimum-wage/mexico/6377-minimum-wage-in-the-country-except-the-free-trade and https://wageindicator.org/salary/minimum-wage/mexico/6438-minimum-wage-in-the-free-trade-zone-of-the.

Load Factors: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2018). “Table 10. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percentage of total compensation: private industry workers, by industry group, June 2018,” in News Release: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation—June 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2019, from: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_09182018.pdf.

Historical CAD to USD Currency Conversion Rates: PoundSterling Live. (2019). “Historical Rates for the CAD/USD currency conversion on 31 December 2018 (31/12/2018).” Retrieved July 19, 2019, from: https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/best-exchange-rates/canadian-dollar-to-us-dollar-exchange-rate-on-2018-12-31.

Current MXN to USD Currency Conversion Rates: XE.com. (2019). “XE Currency Converter: 1 MXN to USD = 0.0525742 US Dollars.” Retrieved July 22, 2019, from https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=MXN&To=USD.

Table 8 provides details on the labor costs to respondents. The estimated annual labor cost for paperwork activities associated with the financial responsibility requirements is $237,291 per year.

Table 8. Total labor costs of information collection activities.

Information Collection Activity	Responses	Minutes per Response	Burden Hours	Cost per Hour	Total Costs
IC1a-4a: Submitting Financial Responsibility Documents (Insurance Underwriters)	98,614	2	3,287.13	$50.51	$166,026
IC1b-4b: Retaining Surety Bonds and Insurance Endorsements: U.S. (Motor Carrier Clerks)	98,614	1	1,643.55	$33.57	$55,174
IC5a: Placing Documents in Vehicles: Canada (Vehicle Maintenance Staff)	37,441	1	624.02	$25.32	$15,800
IC5b: Placing Documents in Vehicles: Mexico (Vehicle Maintenance Staff)	11,035	1	183.92	$1.54	$283
TOTAL	245,704	–	5,738.62	–	$237,291

13. ESTIMATE OF TOTAL ANNUAL COSTS TO RESPONDENTS

FMCSA estimates no other costs to respondents other than the costs associated with the paperwork burden hours shown in item #12 above (which are not to be included in item #13). There are no capital/start-up costs or operation/maintenance costs associated with the information collection burden.

13. ESTIMATE OF COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The information collection imposes no cost to the Federal Government.

13. EXPLANATION OF PROGRAM CHANGES OR ADJUSTMENTS

The number of respondents reported in this document is significantly higher than in previous approved iterations of the information collection request [202,458 – 8,004 = 194,445]. In previous iterations, “respondents” were limited to the number of active and inactive insurers (see Section 12, above) on record who could prepare insurance endorsements or surety bonds for the affected carrier population (for information collections 1–4), in addition to the number of carriers in Mexico and Canada who would be required to place financial responsibility documents in their vehicles (for information collection 5). This calculation has been revised to reflect the estimated number of insurance underwriters who will prepare unique insurance endorsements or surety bonds for the affected carrier population, as well as the number of motor carrier clerks who will store/maintain insurance endorsement/surety bond documentation, and the number of vehicle maintenance staff members who will be required to place financial responsibility documents in vehicles in Mexico and Canada. The revised number of respondents more accurately reflects the number of individuals who will be required to take action as a result of the described information collection activities.

The number of estimated annual responses has also increased in this iteration of the information collection request. Previously, document preparation and document storage activities for information collections 1-4 were collapsed and considered to be one response, estimated to take approximately 3 minutes (2 minutes for document preparation + 1 minute for document storage). The previous approach failed to capture the fact that different individuals employed by different entities are responsible for those two steps (insurance underwriters prepare the documents, whereas motor carrier clerks store the documents). As such, the calculation has been revised to estimate the number of unique information collection “responses” required for each insurance underwriter, motor carrier clerk, and vehicle maintenance staff person, for document preparation (2 minutes per response), document storage (1 minute per response), and document placement in vehicles in Canada and Mexico (1 minute per response). This more accurately reflects the information collection activities described in this document.

While the number of respondents (and responses) has increased significantly due to a revised definition of the term “respondent” and a more granularized view of what constitutes a response, the estimated number of annual burden hours has not changed drastically. An additional 961 burden hours are reported in this iteration of the information collection request. [5,738 proposed annual burden hours − 4,777 currently approved annual hours = 961]. This increase is due to an increase in the motor carrier universe, and thus the number of estimated annual responses.

The labor wage estimates in this document have also been updated. The methodology for calculating loaded wages has been modified to reflect current best practices. In previous iterations of this information collection request, loaded wages were calculated using fringe benefits (calculated at 55 percent of wages) and an additional 27 percent for overhead costs. As described in the introduction to Table 7 and the corresponding table notes, load factors were calculated and used to estimate loaded hourly wages in the current document. Further, estimated wages for motor carrier clerks and vehicle maintenance staff in Canada and Mexico were calculated using updated statistics and more comparable labor positions. As a result of these changes, estimated hourly wages for all labor positions reported in Table 7 have decreased from previous years. See the supplementary notes under Table 7 for additional details regarding the methodology used to estimate wages for this analysis.

The estimated annual cost for the information collection activities described in this document is $237,291. This reflects a decrease of $835, which is attributable to the modified methodology for calculating loaded hourly wages [$237,291− $236,456 = −$835].

13. PUBLICATION OF RESULTS OF DATA COLLECTION

N/A. This information will not be published.

13. APPROVAL FOR NOT DISPLAYING THE EXPIRATION DATE OF OMB APPROVAL

No such approval is being requested.

13. EXCEPTIONS TO CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

None.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. 49 U.S.C. § 31139.

2. 49 U.S.C. § 31138.

3. Form MCS-90, Endorsement for Motor Carrier Policies of Insurance for Public Liability.

4. Form MCS-90B, Endorsement for Motor Carrier Policies of Insurance for Public Liability.

5. Form MCS-82, Motor Carrier Public Liability Surety Bond.

6. Form MCS-82B, Motor Carrier Public Liability Surety Bond.

7. 49 CFR Part 387.

1 49 United States Code 31138(b).

2 Number of active insurers filing surety bonds for 2016, 2017, and 2018 are 231, 228, and 227, respectively. Three-year average is 230. Source: L&I snapshots as of 12/30/2016, 12/29/2017, 12/28/2018, accessed 3/29/2019.

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