The U.S. Census Bureau, in collaboration with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics within the Department of Transportation, has initiated a public comment period regarding the proposed reinstatement and modification of the Commodity Flow Survey (CFS). This development, announced on May 20, 2026, marks a crucial step in preparing for the 2027 Economic Census and ensures the continued availability of vital data concerning the nation's supply chains and goods movement. The CFS stands as the sole comprehensive and publicly accessible source of multimodal, system-wide data on the volume and patterns of freight movement within the United States.
The Indispensable Role of the Commodity Flow Survey
The Commodity Flow Survey serves as a cornerstone for understanding the intricate logistics that underpin the American economy. Its data illuminate the flow of goods from their origins to destinations, providing granular insights into value, tons, and average miles traveled by commodity, industry, and mode of transportation. This information is not merely statistical esoterica; it forms the bedrock for critical decision-making across various sectors. Policymakers and transportation planners at federal, state, and local levels rely on CFS data to assess the demand for transportation facilities and services, evaluate energy consumption trends, identify safety risks, and address environmental concerns related to freight. Concurrently, business owners, private researchers, and analysts leverage these statistics to analyze trends in goods movement, map spatial patterns, forecast demands for future transportation infrastructure, and determine needs for associated equipment.
The upcoming 2027 CFS will continue this tradition, producing summary statistics for the nation, census regions and divisions, states, and specific CFS-defined geographical areas. This breadth of coverage ensures that the data remains relevant and actionable for a diverse group of stakeholders.
Strategic Revisions Aimed at Reducing Respondent Burden
A significant focus of the proposed 2027 CFS is the implementation of strategies to alleviate the reporting burden on businesses. The Census Bureau and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics have detailed several key changes designed to streamline the data collection process:
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Targeted Sampling: The survey will employ a stratified random sample of business establishments, focusing on those classified in Mining, Manufacturing, Wholesale, and select Retail and Service industries under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). This approach ensures representativeness while limiting the scope.
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Simplified Reporting Options: Respondents will have the option to provide data on all shipments within a predetermined reporting week, rather than being required to sample shipments. This flexibility is expected to simplify the reporting process for many businesses.
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Pre-Canvass Surveys: A pre-canvass survey will be conducted before the first quarter of 2027. This proactive step aims to identify the shipping status of NAICS auxiliary and publisher establishments, routing non-shippers out of the survey and thus reducing unnecessary burden. This pre-canvass will also offer select large companies with multi-unit establishments the ability to create 'mail groups,' establishing single points of contact for reporting.
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Flexible Mail Group Creation: Unlike previous iterations, the 2027 CFS will allow for the creation of mail groups within each quarter, not just at the beginning, providing more operational flexibility for multi-unit enterprises.
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Reduced Hazardous Materials Questions: A substantial change involves removing supplemental questions on hazardous materials packaging from quarters one and four for companies that ship hazardous materials. This alteration is projected to decrease the number of establishments surveyed from 160,000 in 2022 to 140,000 in 2027, leading to a substantial decrease in annual burden hours.
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Alternative Reporting Methods: The survey will accept estimates of shipping activity and allow respondents to report shipment weight in additional units of measurement, further accommodating diverse business practices.
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Technological Enhancements: Machine learning will be applied to code products based on their descriptions, enhancing efficiency. Electronic reporting remains a primary method, with the added option for consolidated reporting of multiple locations through a single login for larger companies.
These modifications collectively aim to reduce the estimated number of respondents and the total annual burden hours. The Census Bureau estimates that the total annual burden hours will decrease to 840,000 for 140,000 respondents, with an average of 1.5 hours per response, and an estimated total annual cost to the public of $0 for indirect costs.
Scope and Legal Framework
The CFS will collect data from selected establishments four times during 2027, once each calendar quarter. Each questionnaire will request data for up to 100 shipments during a specific reporting week, encompassing details such as value, net weight, commodity type, and origin and destination. The legal authority for this mandatory data collection derives from Title 13 U.S.C. 8(b) 131 and 193, and Title 49 U.S.C., Section 6302.
Opportunity for Public Input
The Census Bureau is actively soliciting public comments on this proposed information collection. Stakeholders are invited to evaluate whether the proposed collection is necessary and will have practical utility, assess the accuracy of the estimated time and cost burden, suggest ways to enhance data quality and clarity, and propose methods to minimize reporting burden. Comments must be received on or before July 20, 2026, and can be submitted via email or through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. All comments become part of the public record, underscoring the transparency of this federal process.
The reinstatement and refinement of the Commodity Flow Survey represent an ongoing commitment by federal agencies to collect and disseminate high-quality economic and transportation data. The public comment period provides a critical opportunity for businesses and other interested parties to shape a survey that is both effective in its data collection and efficient in its demands on respondents.
