General

1.  When is the Annual Survey of Manufactures due?

The deadline for returning data to the Census Bureau is 30 days after receiving the questionnaire.

back to category

2.  How do I request a time extension?

You can enter a time extension by clicking on Online Services , then click on Login Page. Continue through the next two screens and enter your User ID (UID) and Password (PW), click Log In and when the next screen appears, click on Time Extensions. You must have your User ID and Password to gain access to Online Requests. You may also call the 800 number listed in your package and a service representative will assist you

back to category

3.  I sold my company (this plant or establishment) during the year. What should I report?

Please complete the report form for the portion of the year that you owned the establishment.

back to category

4.  My company is not a manufacturer, what should I do?

If you do not manufacture products at the location shown in the address box of the report form, please indicate the nature of your business in the remarks section and return the form to us. (An approximation of your Receipts (Item 5A), Employment (Item 7.A.5) and Payroll (Item 7.B.1.c) is often helpful in avoiding telephone calls from us.)

Please note: establishments engaged in the activities listed below are considered to be manufacturing establishments for the purpose of this survey:

• Apparel jobbing and contracting
• Assembling from purchased components
• Ship repair
• Commission processing of materials owned by others
• Job casting, stamping, and machining
• Lapidary work
• Machine shops, including those operating on a job-order basis
• Manufacturing and delivering ready-mixed concrete
• Milk pasteurizing and bottling
• Plating, galvanizing, polishing, etc., of materials owned by others
• Poultry dressing
• Printing
• Research and development, engineering and other services directly related to aerospace industries
• Sawmills
• Seafoods, fresh-packaged or frozen
• Wood preserving

back to category

5.  What if I don't keep shipments by location?

Estmates by location are OK.

back to category

6.  Can I report on a fiscal year basis?

We prefer the data to be reported for the calendar year. If calendar year book figures are not available except at considerable cost, reasonable estimates are acceptable.

However, if your fiscal year ends between October 31 and February 28, fiscal year figures are acceptable for all items except employment, plant hours, and payrolls. (Calendar year figures for these employment items should be available from your quarterly tax records.) Indicate in Item 30, CERTIFICATION, the exact dates covered.

If there was a change in operator during the year or the establishment operated part of the year only, the data should apply to the period of operation by your company only. Report in Item 3, OPERATIONAL STATUS, any change and give the name and address of the previous operators or new operators.

back to category

7.  How do I update the name/address on the report?

Make any necessary changes directly on the report form. Physical location address changes should be made in the appropriate item on the report form.

back to category

8.  Can I use estimates to complete the report form?

Yes. A good estimate is acceptable if book figures are not available for specific items. We do not expect businesses to incur additional expenses to develop information not available from their records.

back to category

9.  The preprinted prior year data is incorrect. Is it OK to change this information?

Yes. Please correct any incorrect information and cite any differences in the remarks section of the form.

back to category

10.  Are copies of forms acceptable for filing?

Yes. Please be sure that all data including the label information are legible.

back to category

11.  Are reports created from the data collected in the Annual Survey of Manufactures?

Yes. Statistics for Industry Groups and Industries provide statistics for industry shipments, value added, inventories, materials, employment, hours and payroll. These data are released about 12 months after the end of the calendar year covered.

• The Value of Product Shipments report provides estimates of the value of product shipments at the product class level and multi-industry products. These data are available about 12 months after the calendar year covered by the report.


• Geographic Area Statistics provide additional data at the industry group level for each state about 15 months after the year.


• Exports From Manufacturing Establishments reports provide estimates of the value of exports and related employment by industry, state, and state by selected industry and are released about 36 months after the year covered.

For more information on manufacturing reports go to the Manufacturing home page.

back to category

12.  How do I contact the Census Bureau?

back to category

13.  How is the Annual Survey of Manufactures carried out?

This is a mail-out/mail-back survey of 55,000 selected establishments and administrative data for small employers and new businesses. The mail survey represents a sample of all establishments that received a form in the previous census of manufactures.

Approximately 35,000 establishments (all establishments of multi-unit companies with shipments of at least $500 million, manufacturers of selected computer products, and all remaining establishments with at least 250 employees) are selected with certainty, and 20,000 other establishments (generally with the equivalent of 20 to 250 employees) are selected with probability proportional to a composite measure of establishment size. Most establishments receive a long form to reduce burden, about 5,000 single-establishment firms from industries with large numbers of small firms (that have between 5 to 20 employees) receive a short form.

The universe used to construct the mail survey is updated annually from three sources;

1. Internal Revenue Service Administrative records are used to include new single-unit manufacturers
2. the Census Bureau's Report of Organization (NC-99001) identifies new establishments of multi-unit firms, and
3. a manufacturers classification survey identifies kinds of business

back to category

14.  How is the information from the Annual Survey of Manufactures used?

The Annual Survey of Manufactures provides the best measures of current U.S. manufacturing industry outputs, inputs and operating status.

It provides detailed annual statistics on the location, activities, and products of U.S. manufacturers.

In addition:

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses these data to calculate annual productivity series, update producer price indexes, and calculate weights for new index components.



• The Federal Reserve Board uses the data to prepare the Index of Industrial Production.



• The Bureau of Economic Analysis uses the data to prepare annual GDP updates and weights for GDP deflators.



• The Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration uses the data to evaluate and forecast industrial activity.



• State and local agencies use the data to plan trade and economic policies.



• Private industry and trade associations use it to plan operations, analyze markets, and make investment and production decisions.

back to category

15.  How often is the Annual Survey of Manufactures conducted?

Annually since 1949; reported data are for activities taking place during the survey calendar year. For census years, data collection is part of the economic census. A new panel is selected every 5 years. The next panel will be selected for the 2009 Survey year.

back to category

16.  What economic programs are related to the Annual Survey of Manufactures?

back to category

17.  What is the coverage of the Annual Survey of Manufactures?

All establishments that are classified in the Manufacturing Sector and have at least one employee.

back to category

18.  What is the estimated time needed to complete the MA-10000 form?

Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average from a half hour to six hours per response with an average of 3 and half hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

back to category

19.  What type of content does the Annual Survey of Manufactures cover?

Topics covered are the same as for the Economic Census, but product detail is less. Basic data obtained include kind of business, location, ownership, value of shipments, payroll and employment.

Additional data collected include cost of materials, inventories, new capital expenditures, fuel and energy costs, hours worked and payroll supplements.

back to category

20.  Where can I get information about manufacturing statistics?

For information on manufacturing statistics, please visit the Manufacturing home page.

back to category

21.  How can I get a copy of the instructions to complete a form?

Instructions in PDF format can be found at Annual Survey of Manufactures Business Help Site

back to category