Transportation of Household
Goods; Consumer Protection
Revision of a currently approved collection
No
Regular
10/27/2021
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
11/30/2022
4,915,383
6,034,891
3,708,095
4,282,171
3,023,737
161,440,597
The collections in this ICR are
mandatory and consists mostly of recordkeeping and disclosure,
where a motor carrier provides information when a consumer requests
that a mover provide an estimate and when a consumer decides to
have a particular mover transport household goods. Certain
information will be transferred to the consumer for the consumer to
educate himself/herself of his/her rights and responsibilities in
commercial transactions with the mover. This is a revision to the
ICR due to an NPRM. FMCSA is proposing to update the regulations at
49 CFR 375 in an NPRM titled “Implementation of Household Goods
Working Group Recommendations” (86 FR 43814). The NPRM proposes to
make various changes to the household goods regulations that the
Household Goods Consumer Protection Working Group recommended to
FMCSA. These proposed changes include further revisions to
streamline FMCSA’s publication “Your Rights and Responsibilities
When You Move” which would be incorporated in appendix A of the
regulations, requiring “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You
Move” to be provided along with the estimate, requiring new binding
or non-binding estimates when an individual shipper tenders more
goods or requests additional service instead of a revised estimate,
allowing a motor carrier to provide a virtual survey and removing
the 50-mile radius for when a survey is required, removing the
requirement for an order for service and incorporating that
document into the bill of lading, and other minor updates to
increase the clarity of the regulations. These proposed changes are
intended to reduce the paperwork burden on household goods motor
carriers and reduce confusion for individual shippers. FMCSA will
use the information provided by the shippers, when necessary, while
conducting reviews, audits and investigations of carriers to
determine if a carrier/mover is in compliance with the Federal
requirements. If this collected information were not available,
FMCSA would have no means of independently verifying compliance.
The collected information will assist consumers in their commercial
dealings with interstate motor carriers by enabling them to receive
consumer protection materials electronically. FMCSA will use the
information provided by the shippers, when necessary, while
conducting reviews, audits and investigations of carriers to
determine if a carrier/mover is in compliance with the Federal
requirements. If this collected information were not available,
FMCSA will have no means of independently verifying compliance. The
frequency of the collection varies and is based on the number of
moves and requests made, based on shippers needs, and is not a
factor FMCSA or the carrier can control. The information is not
collected more frequently than quarterly since the data is required
only when services are requested by the consumer. This is to help
the consumer understand each part of the commercial transaction and
determine whether they are being defrauded or deceived by a mover.
This supporting statement divides the burden into five collections
roughly corresponding to the subsections in the HHG regulations in
which the specific paperwork and record keeping requirements for
HHG movers appear: • IC-1: Required Information for Prospective
Individual Shippers • IC-2: Estimating Charges • IC-3: Pick Up of
Shipments of Household Goods • IC-4: Transportation of Shipments •
IC-5: Consumer Complaints
This revision includes the
following program adjustments due to the lower estimates of HHG
carriers, for-hire interstate moves, and the number of new entrant
HHG carriers, as well as the proposed changes in the NPRM, as
stated below: - Increase of 6,986 hours for IC1: is a result of the
Rights and Responsibilities booklet being delivered with every
estimate; - Increase of 1,277 hours for IC1: is a result of various
program adjustments; - Increase of 41,923 for IC2: is a result of
virtual surveys being conducted for moves beyond 50 miles; -
Decrease of 282,683 hours for IC2: is a result of the decreased
estimate of for-hire moves completed in a given year; - Decrease of
279,426 hours for IC3: is a result of the removal of the Order for
Service requirement; - Decrease of 59,510 hours for IC3: is a
result of the decreased estimate of for-hire moves completed in a
given year; - Decrease of 1,662 hours for IC4: is a result of the
decreased estimate of for-hire moves completed in a given year; -
Overall decrease of 981 hours for IC5: is due to a decrease in the
hours to establish record systems and the decreased estimate of
for-hire moves completed in a given year. • The annual number of
responses decreased by 1,119,508 due to an adjustment in agency
estimate. • There a total of 230,517 burden hours decrease due to
the NPRM and a total of 343,559 burden hours decrease due to change
in agency estimate. This is a total decrease of 574,076 burden
hours. • The annual burden hours overall decrease is (582,339 –
8,263) = 574,076 burden hours due to: - An increase of 8,263 (1,277
+ 6,986) due to increase in the burden hours associated with IC-1;
and - A decrease of 582,339 (-282,683 - 279,426 + 41,923 - 59,510 -
1,662 -981) due to burden hours associated with IC-2, IC-3, IC-4,
and IC-5. There is an increase in costs to respondents: ($1,802,456
- $2,987,618) $1,185,162, and $161,440,597 labor-related costs were
inadvertently reported in the table. Therefore removing
$161,440,597 and adding $2,987,618 in non-labor costs to
respondents resulted in an overall decrease of $158,452,980 in the
table above. The adjustments to the annual number of responses,
burden hours, and costs to respondents are primarily due to
re-estimates of the number of carriers affected by the ICR (from
4,212 to 5,100) and the number of annual shipments (from 617,503 to
558,851). The total non-labor capital costs due to the NPRM is
$1,592,726 which is due to an increase of $1,676,554 (for IC-1) as
a result of the Rights and Responsibilities booklet being delivered
with every estimate; and a decrease of $83,828 (for IC-3) as a
result of the removal of the Order for Service requirement. There
is an annual burden hr. cost decrease of ($161,440,597 -
$159,696,479) = $1,744,118.
$0
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Monique Riddick 202
366-8045
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
2126-0025 HHG NPRM Supporting Statement 08.10.21.docx
75 FR 72987.pdf
US CODE_ Title 49,14104. Household goods carrier operations.html
IC1 - Informational Documents Provided to Prospective Shippers