Stakeholder Feedback on Coronavirus Pandemic Content

SY20 Annuals Proposed Coronavirus Pandemic Content

This section contains summarized comments from stakeholders aligned with the proposed content:

ASM Specific Content

General comments on Content:

BLS: Information could possibly be used to analyze and potentially create custom first (establishment) and second (product) stage sample selection and weighting by industry.

BLS: The NAPCS content will enable us to construct our benchmark industrial production indexes in a way that accurately captures production of PPE and other equipment (such as ventilators) by establishments that do not traditionally manufacture these products.

2. How many days during 2020 was your establishment closed due to the coronavirus pandemic?

5.Add the below NAPCS to all electronic paths:

1) 2017900000 - Manufacturing of nonelectric breathing devices (including N95 and other respirators), incubators, inhalators, and resuscitators, and other surgical and medical apparatus and instruments, excluding anesthetic apparatus and parts

2) 2018000000 - Manufacturing of electromedical equipment (including diagnostic, therapeutic, patient monitoring equipment, and ventilators), excluding ionizing radiation equipment

3) 2050375000 - Manufacturing of personal safety equipment and clothing, industrial and nonindustrial, including respiratory protection, face shields, masks, and protective clothing, excluding footwear, gloves, and surgical and medical respirators

4) 2045875000 - Manufacturing of surgical appliances and supplies, including surgical gloves, bandages, gauze, cotton (sterile and non-sterile), and other surgical dressings, excluding orthopedic and prosthetic appliances

5) 2010475000 - Manufacturing of bath, facial, and hand soaps, including hand sanitizers

6) 2007875000 - Manufacturing of other household specialty cleaning and sanitation products, including disinfectants

6. Four Quarters Production Work Payroll:

What was the payroll for production workers at this establishment for the:

First quarter (January-March 2020)?

Second quarter (April-June 2020)?

Third quarter (July-September 2020)?

Fourth quarter (October-December 2020)?

7. Special Inquiry:

Donations:

Did this establishment donate any products during 2020 or 2019?

Yes – If “Yes” then complete B.

No

B. What was the value of the donated products? (This is a breakout of the $,000 reported in Item 5, line A., total value of products shipped.)

Comment for ‘value of donated products’: BLS: The proposed ASM item “Value of the donated products” would be important for some industries, such as medical equipment manufacturers (NAICS 339112) and soap, cleaning compound, and toilet preparation manufacturers (NAICS 3256). These values would help augment the existing value of shipments/receipts to achieve value of production.

This section contains selected comments and support related to the ASM from emails received:

BEA –

Let me start by thanking you and your Census colleagues for providing BEA the opportunity to comment. The general sentiment is that we believe the new COVID-19 questions would provide us with valuable information, even if we might not directly publish the data. For example, we would likely use it to inform our understanding of unusual trends, learn about the reasons for deviations from trend and whether the data are “believable”.   We could also use the responses to make judgments about “special factors” for seasonal adjustment etc.  So at the end of the day we think it’s worth collecting the data.

BLS –

Response 1:

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on these questions.

We feel that several of these questions will be useful when making our industry productivity estimates for 2020. The various questions that ask about disruptions and closures will be helpful for us in determining whether adjustments are warranted in some of our data series for specific industries. Because the impact of Covid-19 continues to be very different depending on the industry, we may use the results from the questions on closures, disruptions, etc. to inform our decisions in specific industries. The ASM breakdown of production work payroll by quarters may also be useful for us, as well as the reduction in work hours and reduction in pay results.

 The proposed ASM item “Value of the donated products” would be important for some industries, such as medical equipment manufacturers (NAICS 339112) and soap, cleaning compound, and toilet preparation manufacturers (NAICS 3256). These values would help augment the existing value of shipments/receipts to achieve value of production.

  Response 2:

Thanks again for reaching out to us.

Thank you for the opportunity to review the proposed additional questions for the 2020 annual surveys and to provide input. The PPI may be able to use the information that is provided by establishments for the first question, the second answer – Produced new goods or provided new services. We would use this as an indicator for the need for the PPI to perform directed substitution if the new goods and services persist.  The manufacture of PPE goods would also be useful if that production persists as well.

In a more general sense, the PPI would be interested in the results from all of the questions pertaining to production (e.g. the establishment question noted above) and all of the ASM Specific Content questions. That information could possibly be used to analyze and potentially create custom first (establishment) and second (product) stage sample selection and weighting by industry.

Thank you again for your outreach and giving us the opportunity to comment on the questions! For this particular outreach effort from Census, OPT and PPI will be responding to your outreach separately.

FRB –

Thanks again for requesting our feedback on the special pandemic-related questions for the annual surveys.  A number of my colleagues were very pleased to see that Census is considering these additions. 

 The data collected will be used by the Board to better understand how the pandemic affected different businesses and establishments.  The NAPCS content will enable us to construct our benchmark industrial production indexes in a way that accurately captures production of PPE and other equipment (such as ventilators) by establishments that do not traditionally manufacture these products.

CMS –

 I’ve attached our feedback regarding the proposed Coronavirus content.  Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information.  Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback.