The purpose of the Quarterly Survey of Plant Capacity Utilization (QPC) is to provide quarterly statistics on plant capacity utilization rates for the manufacturing and publishing sectors of the U.S. economy.  The QPC collects data on actual production, full production capability, and estimated national emergency production capability.  These data are used to produce full and emergency production capacity utilizations rates for the manufacturing and publishing sectors as defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).  The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) co-sponsor the QPC.  The QPC is the only source for quarterly statistics on U.S. industrial plant capacity.

Title 13, United States Code, Section 8(b); Title 50, United States Code, Section 98, et. seq.; and Title 12, United States Code, Section 244 authorize the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct this collection and request your voluntary assistance.  The U.S. Census Bureau is required by Title 13, United States Code, Section 9 to keep your information confidential and use your responses only to produce statistics.  Your information may be seen only by persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau data and may be used only for statistical purposes.  The U.S. Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify your business, organization, or institution.    Further, copies retained in respondents’ files are immune from legal process.  Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.

This collection has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  The eight-digit OMB approval number is 0607-0175.  Without this approval, the U.S. Census Bureau could not conduct this survey.

The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) uses QPC data to benchmark monthly estimates of capacity output and utilization and to analyze the change in use of capital, capital stocks, and inputs related to capacity growth.  The Department of Defense (DOD), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) uses QPC data to assess the readiness to meet demand for goods under selected national emergency scenarios.

• Key statistics produced

The key statistics produced for the QPC are full and emergency capacity utilization rates.  The QPC collects value of actual production, estimated value of production at full capacity, and estimated value of production under emergency conditions.  The full capacity utilization rate and the emergency capacity utilization rate for a given industry level are calculated as follows:

FULL CAPACITY UTILIZATION RATE = TOTAL WEIGHTED VALUE OF ACTUAL PRODUCTION / TOTAL WEIGHTED ESTIMATED VALUE OF PRODUCTION AT FULL CAPACITY

EMERGENCY CAPACITY UTILIZATION RATE = TOTAL WEIGHTED VALUE OF ACTUAL PRODUCTION / TOTAL WEIGHTED ESTIMATED VALUE OF PRODUCTION UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS

The QPC also collects data and produces statistics on reasons for operating at less than full production capacity and work patterns by shift, including days per week in operation, plant hours per week in operation, weeks in operation during the quarter, and number of production workers.

• Frequency of data products

The Census Bureau conducts the QPC on a quarterly basis to provide plant capacity utilization rates.

• Geographic detail

N/A

• Publication level of detail

Estimates from the QPC are published at the 93 industry group levels specified and defined by the survey sponsors.

• Data dissemination

Estimates from the QPC are disseminated on a quarterly basis.  Revised prior quarter rates and preliminary current quarter rates are released to the survey sponsors roughly seven weeks after mailout for the current quarter.  Final utilization rates are delivered to the FRB roughly three weeks before the final publication and sponsor tabulations are released.

The QPC estimates are released in a survey publication each quarter.  The four releases are published in June (1^st quarter), September (2^nd quarter), December (3^rd quarter), and March (4^th quarter).

In the event of an unplanned data revision, revised statistics may be made available under “Updates” or under “Data.”  Internal Census Bureau policies are followed for notifying sponsors and primary stakeholders.

You may contact us by phone at 1-800-201-4647. 

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