Part 520 supporting statement 5-12-22 FINAL

Part 520 supporting statement 5-12-22 FINAL.pdf

46 CFR Part 520 - Carrier Automated Tariff Systems and Related Form FMC-1

OMB: 3072-0064

Document [pdf]
Download: pdf | pdf
NARRATIVE SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
46 CFR PART 520 – CARRIER AUTOMATED TARIFF SYSTEMS
AND RELATED FORM FMC-1

A.

Justification

1.
Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a
copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the
information collection.
Section 8(a) of the Shipping Act of 1984 (1984 Act), as amended by the Ocean Shipping
Reform Act of 1998 (OSRA), 46 U.S.C. 40501(a)-(c), requires common carriers and conferences
of such common carriers to publish and keep open to public inspection in automated tariff
systems, tariffs showing all rates, charges, classifications, rules and practices between all points
or ports on their own routes for transportation of cargo between the U.S. and foreign ports, and
on any through transportation route that has been established. These tariffs are made available
electronically to any person through appropriate access from remote locations.
Each common carrier and conference is required to notify the Commission’s Bureau of
Trade Analysis, prior to the commencement of common carrier service pursuant to a published
tariff, of its organization name, organization number, home office address, name and telephone
number of firm’s representative, the location of its tariffs, and the publisher, if any, used to
maintain its tariffs, by electronically submitting Form FMC-1 via the Commission’s website.
The purpose of these regulations is to permit shippers and other members of the public to
obtain reliable and accurate information concerning the rates and charges that will be assessed by
common carriers and conferences for their transportation services and to help carriers and
conferences meet their publication requirements under section 8(a) of the Shipping Act, 46
U.S.C. 40501(g).
2.
Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except
for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information
received from the current collection.
The Commission’s Bureau of Trade Analysis uses the information published in tariffs of
common carriers and conferences to monitor their activities and to ensure the accessibility and
accuracy of automated tariff systems as required by section 8(g) of the Shipping Act. In order to
effectively carry out its duties, the Commission uses the information to protect the public from
violations by carriers of section 10 of the Shipping Act, 46 U.S.C. 41102-41105. It also allows
the Commission to review and monitor the activities of controlled carriers pursuant to section 9
of the Shipping Act, 46 U.S.C. 40701-40706. If such information were not collected, the
Commission would be precluded from carrying out its statutory and regulatory responsibilities.

3.
Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use
of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other
forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
Carriers and conferences publish tariff data in private automated systems or on carrier
websites. It is intended that the shipping public will continue to have access to accurate tariff
information. Form FMC-1 is filed electronically with the agency.
4.

Describe efforts to identify duplication.

Carriers and conferences, as part of their business practice, are required to keep tariff
information available in their private publications. Since this information is not filed with the
Commission, their systems are the only public repository where a complete copy of each
carrier’s and conference’s tariff containing historical rates may be found.
5.
If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities,
describe any methods used to minimize burden.
This collection of information does not have a significant impact on small businesses or
other small entities.
6.
Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is
not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to
reducing burden.
The Commission ensures that tariffs are published, and the location of those tariffs are
made public, within a specific time frame assigned by the agency. If this information were not
published as specified, the Commission would not be able to determine compliance with the
statute and the Commission’s regulations, and the shipping public would not have reliable
information on carrier rates, charges, classifications, rules and practices.
7.
Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines. (a) requiring respondents to report information
to the agency more often than quarterly; (b) requiring respondents to prepare a written
response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it; (c)
requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;
(d) requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical government
contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records, for more than three years; (e) in connection with a
statistical survey, that is not designed to product valid and reliable results that can be
generalized to the universe of study; (f) requiring the use of statistical data classification
that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB; (g) that includes a pledge of
confidentially that is not supported by authority established in stature of regulation, that is
not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge,
or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible
confidential use; (h) requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secrets, or other

confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted
procedures to protect the information’s confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.
This information collection does not (1) require respondents to report information to the
agency more often than quarterly; (2) require written responses in fewer than 30 days; (3) require
respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document; (4) include
confidentiality pledges that are not supported by established statutory authority; or (5) require
respondents to submit proprietary information without protecting such information to the full
extent of the law. Additionally, the information collection is not used in connection with a
statistical survey, nor does it require the use of statistical data classification. There is a five-year
recordkeeping requirement that is consistent with the statute of limitation provisions in section
13(f) of the Shipping Act, 46 U.S.C. 41109.
8.
If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication
in the Federal Register of the agency’s notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting
comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public
comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken in response to the
comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden. Describe
efforts to consult with persons outside FMC to obtain their views on the availability of data,
frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or
reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or report.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act and OMB’s regulations, notice was
published in the Federal Register on May 10, 2022, at 87 FR 27971, requesting public
comments. Respondents have 30 days to respond with their views regarding the collection of
information.

9.
Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
Not applicable – The Commission does not provide any payments or gifts to respondents.
10.
Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for
the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
Tariff information is available to anyone who requests it, and there are no provisions for
confidentiality.
11.
Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as
sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly
considered private. This justification should include the reasons why FMC considers the
questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be
given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to
obtain their consent.

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.
12.
Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement
should indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden,
and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, FMC should
not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates.
Consultation with a sample fewer than 10 potential respondents is desirable.
The Commission estimates the total respondent universe to be 6,331 and the total hour
burden for the publication of tariffs, notification/filing requirements, and recordkeeping
requirements to be 2,148 hours (see below). The Form FMC-1 is required before tariffs may be
published (361 hours). This results in an annual hour burden of 2,509 hours. The Commission
estimates an annualized cost to respondents for information collection as $181,892. This
includes overhead and benefits. (See Attachment 1.)
TARIFF CONTENT REQUIREMENTS
Requirement
Annual
Respondents
Publish tariffs & keep open for 1,665
public inspection 1

Annual
Instances
722

Average Hour
Per Response
0.1

Total
Hours
72

[Disclosure/Third-party Requirements (included in above calculations)]
NOTIFICATION/FILING REQUIREMENTS
Requirement
Annual
Respondents
Related Forms (Form FMC-1)
722
Inform FMC in writing of
1,341
certain occurrences, e.g.,
cancellations, new publishers,
etc.
File documents with FMC &
1
certifications

Annual
Instances
722
1,341

Average Hour
Per Response
0.5
0.25

1

0.5

Total
Hours
361
335

0.5

[Disclosure/Third-party Requirements (included in above calculations)]
RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS
Requirement
Annual
Respondents
Maintain data in tariff
6,331
publication systems
Provide reasonable access to
6,331
FMC
1

Annual
Instances
103,450
5

Average Hour
Per Response
0.0167
2

Total
Hours
1,728
10

A tariff publication occurs prior to the commencement of common carriage service by a VOCC or NVOCC pursuant
to a published tariff. The common carrier is required to submit a Form FMC-1 indicating where the link is to their
published tariff(s) governing rules and rates.

Maintain shipper notices &
shipment records for
time/volume

1

TOTALS FOR ALL REQUIREMENTS

1

105,520

2

2

2,509

The FMC offers the following descriptions of the information collection requirements
shown in the above table:
Publish tariffs & keep open for public inspection: There are 146 Vessel Operating Common
Carriers (VOCCs) and 6,185 Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers (NVOCCs) for an
approximate total of 6,331 common carriers required by statute to publish tariffs. Of these, an
average of 1,655 annual respondents submit changes to information on their existing Form FMC1. On average, there are 633 annual instances of new common carriers (NVOCCs and VOCCs)
who are required to publish a tariff prior to offering common carriage service. There are an
additional 89 new tariffs published due to carrier mergers or other organizational changes, for a
total of 722.
Related Forms (Form FMC-1): On average there are 633 new common carriers (NVOCCs and
VOCCs) each fiscal year who are required to complete a Form FMC-1 for the first time prior to
offering common carriage service. Form FMC-1 provides the Commission with organizational
and contact information for the common carrier, as well as the location of its publicly available
tariff. There are an additional 89 new FMC-1 forms completed due to the merger or other
organizational changes of existing common carriers, for a total of 722.
Inform FMC in writing of certain occurrences, e.g., cancellations, new publishers, etc.:
FMC receives written notice on approximately 341 tariff cancellations during the fiscal year.
This information collection also encompasses Special Permission applications (SP) received
from common carriers. SP applications are typically very infrequent, and the number of filings
variers from year to year, as their filing is dependent on a common carrier making an error in its
tariff and seeking to correct it through the SP process. On average, we estimate 1 SP per year
which takes the common carrier approximately 0.25 hours to gather the pertinent documentation
and file with the FMC. We estimate that another 1,000 existing common carriers, who are
changing their business operation/information will advise the Commission during the fiscal year.
File documents with FMC & certifications: There were no instances to report for the past
fiscal year. Therefore, we input the minimum of 1 annual instance. Historically, certification of a
tariff was occasionally requested in connection with litigation regarding movement(s) of cargo,
however, such requests have become infrequent in recent years.
Maintain data in tariff publication systems: An average of 6,331 common carriers are
required to publish and maintain current and historical data for 2 years electronically on-line and
5 years overall. As this is an ongoing process to comport with the regulations, it is dependent on
the number of filings each carrier makes to their respective tariffs. The number of filings will
also vary from carrier to carrier; however, we estimate that each carrier, other than NVOCCs

who opt to use Negotiated Rate Arrangements 2 (NRA), will make 25 rate adjustments to their
tariff in a fiscal year which should take about 1 minute per filing. There are an average of 6,185
total NVOCCs, of which an average of 2,193 publish an NRA rule, which results in a remaining
3,992 NVOCCs that make rate adjustments in their tariffs. In addition, 146 VOCCs publish
tariffs. The average of all carriers making rate adjustments to their tariffs (3,992 + 146= 4,138)
times 25 filings per carrier equals 103,450 annual instances. At 0.0167 hours per response, the
total burden is estimated to be 1,728 hours.
Provide reasonable access to FMC: An average of 6,331 common carriers are required to
provide reasonable access to FMC with any log-in or passwords that are necessary to access their
tariff systems. All tariffs are on-line and the majority (6,078) are readily available to the FMC
through the13 major tariff publishers; therefore, there is minimal time involved to set up FMC
access. For those 283 common carriers who self-publish, their tariff location is posted on their
Form FMC-1. Every self-publisher who requires a log-in and password has provided FMC with
a log-in and password in writing which FMC posts on its Intranet and updates monthly. The
FMC gets about5 new self-publishers a year, and typically all will require a log-in and
password. An estimate of 2 hours per response is allocated to set up log-in and password
procedures, for a total burden of 10 hours.
Maintain shipper notices & shipment records for time/volume: Time volume shipments are
no longer common, and are seldom, if ever, used in the shipping industry today. Accordingly,
the minimum number of annual instances for this item has been used, as we have observed no
recent time volume tariff publications.
13.
Provide an estimate for the total annual cost burden to respondents or record
keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour
burden already reflected on the burden worksheet).
* The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost
component (annualized over its expected useful life) and (b) a total operation and
maintenance and purchase of services component. The estimates should take into account
costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information.
Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and
technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and
the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include,
among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers
and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and record storage
facilities.
* If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost
burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of purchasing or contracting out
information collections services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing
cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10),
utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing economic
2

A Negotiate Rate Arrangement is not required to be filed in the NVOCC’s tariff.

or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information
collection, as appropriate.
* Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions
thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with
requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to
provide information or keep records for the government, or (4) as part of customary and
usual business or private practices.
There are no additional cost burdens to respondents or recordkeepers other than those
reported in item 12.
The start-up costs and operations and maintenance costs previously reported under question
13 have been eliminated due to advances in technology associated with publishing and making
tariffs available to the public. Notably, 96% of all tariffs are published by the 13 major tariff
publishers, and those start-up costs were incurred long ago, in many cases, decades ago. The
remaining 4% of tariffs are published using commercially available software.

14.

Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.

Total estimated costs to the Federal Government for this collection of information is 664
hours, at an estimated cost of $83,800 (see Attachment 2)
15.
Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13
(or 14) of OMB Form 83-I.
There have been no program changes or adjustments in Items 13 or 14.

16.
For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and
publication.
The Commission publishes on its website a list of the locations of carrier tariffs.
17.
If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the
information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.
Not applicable – The Commission is not seeking approval to exclude the display of the
expiration date for OMB approval of this information collection.

18.
Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of OMB
Form 83-I.

Not applicable -- The Commission proposes no exception to the certification statement on
OMB Form 83-I.
B.

Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
This collection of information does not employ statistical methods.

Attachment 1

12.

Estimated Burden and Costs, Including Overhead, to Respondents

2,148 hours (reporting and recordkeeping requirements) + 361 hours (Form FMC-1) = 2,509
total hours
33% Pricing Manager (828 hours)
67% Tariff Publisher (1,681 hours)
The annual salary calculations have been formulated using the Federal Government’s January
2022 salary table (overhead of 102.93% has been added to the basic salary). The salary for the
pricing manager was calculated using the salary of a GS 13/5 Senior Transportation Specialist,
and the salary for the tariff publisher was calculated using the salary of a GS 6/5 Transportation
Specialist.
Formula: Annual salary/2087 + overhead rate = adjusted annual salary
$121,065/2087 = $ 58.01(basic hourly rate) + $ 59.71 (overhead) = $117.72 = Pricing Manager
adjusted hourly salary
$51,651/2087 = $ 24.75 (basic hourly rate) + $ 25.48 (overhead) = $50.22 = Tariff Publisher
adjusted hourly salary

Employee
Pricing Manager
Tariff Publisher
TOTALS

Hourly Salary
$117.72
$50.22

Number of Hours
828
1,681
2,509

Total
$ 97,472
$ 84,420
$ 181,892

Attachment 2

14.

Estimated Burden and Costs, Including Overhead, to Federal Government

The annual salary calculations have been formulated using the Federal Government’s January
2022 salary table (overhead of 102.93% has been added to the basic salary).
Senior Advisor, Service Contracts and Tariffs GS 15/5 – 201 hours
$/168,282/2087 = $80.63 (basic hourly rate) + $82.99 (overhead) = $163.62 adjusted hourly
salary
Transportation Specialist GS 12/5 – 401 hours
$101,813/2087 = $ 48.78 (basic hourly rate) + $ 50.21 (overhead) = $98.99 adjusted hourly
salary
Information Processing Assistant GS 7/5 – 201 hours
$57,393/2087 = $27.50 (basic hourly rate) + $ 28.31(overhead) = $ 55.81
Employee
Senior Advisor, Service Contracts and
Tariffs
Transportation Specialist
Information Processing Assistant
TOTALS

Hourly Salary
$163.62

Number of Hours
201

Total
32,887

$ 98.99
$ 55.81

401
201
803

39,695
$11,218
$ 83,800

Estimated Burden Cost to the Federal Government:

$ 83,800


File Typeapplication/pdf
AuthorSusan Johnson
File Modified2022-05-12
File Created2022-05-12

© 2024 OMB.report | Privacy Policy