Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for Comment; Consolidated Labeling Requirements for 49 CFR Part 541 and Procedures for Selecting Lines To Be Covered by the Theft Prevention Standard for 49 CFR Part 542

Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for Comment; Consolidated Labeling Requirements for 49 CFR Part 541 and Procedures for Selecting Lines To Be Covered by the Theft Prevention Standard for 49 CFR Part 542

Publication: Federal Register
Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Byline: Raymond R. Posten
Date: 3 May 2022
Subjects: American Government

, Crime

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26256-26259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09390]

[[Page 26256]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0035]

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a reinstatement of a
previously approved information collection.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR)
summarized below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICR describes the nature of
the information collections and their expected burden for consolidated
labeling requirements and procedures for selecting lines to be covered
by the Theft Prevention Standard. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-
day comment period for approval of a reinstatement of this previously
approved information collection was published on January 12, 2022. The
agency received no comments.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 2, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection, including suggestions for reducing burden,
should be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget at
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. To find this particular information
collection, select ``Currently under Review--Open for Public Comment''
or use the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Carlita Ballard at the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of International Policy,
Fuel Economy and Consumer Programs (NRM-310), 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE, West Building, Room W43-439, Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Ballard's
telephone number is (202) 366-5222. Please identify the relevant
collection of information by referring to its OMB Control Number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), a
Federal agency must receive approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) before it collects certain information from the public and
a person is not required to respond to a collection of information by a
Federal agency unless the collection displays a valid OMB control
number. In compliance with these requirements, this notice announces
that the following information collection request will be submitted to
OMB.
A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting
public comments on the following information collection was published
on January 12, 2022 (87 FR 1833). The agency received no comments.
Title: Consolidated Labeling Requirements for 49 CFR part 541 and
Procedures for Selecting Lines to be Covered by the Theft Prevention
Standard for 49 CFR part 542.
OMB Control Number: 2127-0539.
Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information
collection.
Type of Review Requested: Regular.
Length of Approval Requested: Three years.
Summary of the Collection of Information: 49 U.S.C. Chapter 331
requires the Secretary of Transportation, and NHTSA by delegation, to
promulgate a theft prevention standard to provide for the
identification of certain motor vehicles and their major replacement
parts (parts-marking) to impede motor vehicle theft. NHTSA's theft
prevention standard at 49 CFR part 541 specifies performance
requirements for identifying numbers or symbols (generally the vehicle
identification number (VIN)) to be placed on major parts of all
passenger vehicles subject to the theft prevention standard. In 1984,
Congress enacted the Motor Vehicle Theft Law Enforcement Act (The Theft
Act) directing NHTSA to issue a theft prevention standard requiring
vehicle manufacturers to mark the major parts of high-theft lines of
passenger motor vehicles. (Pub. L. 98-547.) In 1992, Congress enacted
the Anti Car Theft Act (Pub. L. 102-519, codified at 49 U.S.C. chapter
331), which expanded the parts-marking requirement to include
multipurpose passenger vehicles and certain light duty trucks. In a
final rule published on April 6, 2004 (69 FR 17960), the Federal Motor
Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard was extended to include all passenger
cars and, multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight
rating (GVWR) of 6,000 pounds or less, all light-duty trucks (LDTs)
determined to be high-theft (with a gross vehicle weight rating of
6,000 pounds or less) and all low-theft LDTs with major parts that are
interchangeable with a majority of the covered major parts of those
passenger motor vehicle lines subject to the theft prevention standard.
The five information collections are: (1) The requirement to mark major
parts of covered motor vehicles; (2) the requirement to submit to NHTSA
target areas showing where the parts will be marked; (3) the
requirement that manufacturers maintain the designated target areas for
the duration of the production of the vehicle line; (4) the requirement
for manufacturers of new LDT lines to submit information to NHTSA to
allow the agency to determine whether the LDT line will be required to
comply with the parts-marking requirements because it is likely to be a
high theft line; and (5) the requirement for manufacturers of new LDT
lines to submit information to NHTSA to allow the agency to determine
the LDT will be required to comply with the parts-marking requirements
because it contains major parts that are interchangeable with the
majority of the covered major parts of passenger motor vehicles covered
by the standard. Each of the information collections are describe in
more detail below.
49 CFR Part 541--Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard:
The Theft Act requires specified parts of high-theft vehicles to be
marked with vehicle identification numbers (parts-marking). Part 541
specifies performance requirements for identifying numbers or symbols
to be placed on major parts of certain passenger motor vehicles to
reduce the incidence of motor vehicle thefts through tracing and
recovery of parts from stolen vehicles. All passenger cars and
multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of
6,000 pounds or less, and light duty trucks with major parts that are
interchangeable with the majority of the covered major parts of
passenger motor vehicles covered by the standard are required to be
parts-marked. Each major component part must be either labeled or
affixed with the VIN and its replacement component part must be marked
with the ``DOT'' symbol, the letter ``R'' and the manufacturers' logo.
For each vehicle line, manufacturers must inform NHTSA of the location
of the VIN marking on each part (target area) and the location of the
VIN marking for the replacement part. This information is publicly
available to aid law enforcement personnel in tracing stolen vehicles
and their parts. In addition, the manufacturer must maintain the target
area designated for

[[Page 26257]]

a part on a vehicle line for the duration of the production of the
vehicle line, unless a restyling of the part makes it no longer
practicable to mark within the original target area.
49 CFR Part 542--Procedures for Selecting Light Duty Truck Lines to
be Covered by the Theft Prevention Standard: Manufacturers of light
duty trucks must identify new model introductions that are likely to be
high-theft vehicle lines as defined in 49 U.S.C. 33104. The specific
vehicle lines are to be selected by agreement between the manufacturer
and the agency. NHTSA's procedures for selecting high-theft vehicle
lines are contained in 49 CFR part 542. Manufacturers use the criteria
in Appendix C of part 541 to evaluate new lines and determine whether
the new line is likely to be high theft. Next, the manufacturers submit
their evaluations and conclusions, together with the underlying factual
information, to NHTSA at least 15 months before introduction of the
vehicle line into U.S. commerce.

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the
Information

49 CFR Part 541: The identification of major parts of high theft
motor vehicle lines is designed to decrease automobile theft by making
it more difficult for criminals to ``chop'' vehicles into component
parts and then fence such parts. The information would aid law
enforcement officials at all levels of Government in the investigation
of ``chop shops'' by creating evidence for prosecution of the operators
for possession of stolen motor vehicle parts. Officials have great
difficulty in establishing that particular parts in the possession of a
``chop shop'' are in fact stolen when the parts are not marked.
Operators of both ``chop shops'' and auto body repair shops would avoid
possession of parts bearing identification that links the parts to a
stolen vehicle. Also, stolen parts, when recovered, could not easily be
traced back to the proper owner and returned to the owner or insurer if
the parts were not marked. Congress intended for major parts
identification to decrease the market for stolen parts and, therefore,
decrease the incentive for motor vehicle theft.
49 CFR Part 542: Manufacturers of light duty trucks must identify
new model introductions that are likely to be high-theft vehicle lines
as defined in 49 U.S.C. 33104. Because the specific vehicle lines are
to be selected by agreement between the manufacturer and NHTSA, the
agency could not perform its statutory requirement without the
information provided by the manufacturers.

60-Day Notice

A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting
public comments on the following information collection was published
on January 12, 2022 (87 FR 1833). NHTSA received no comments.
Affected Public: Motor vehicle manufacturers.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 21.
There are approximately 21 manufacturers that are required to
comply with the parts marking requirements of part 541 each year and
submit information on target areas to NHTSA. For the information
collections contained in part 542, NHTSA estimates that there are
currently 7 manufacturers of LDTs that could be subject to the parts-
marking requirements. However, these manufacturers are not required to
submit information every year. Instead, these manufacturers would only
need to submit information under part 542 before they introduce a new
LDT line. Because NHTSA estimates that it will only receive one
submission under section 542.1 and one submission under section 542.2
in each of the next three years, NHTSA estimates there will only be one
respondent to these information collections annually.
Frequency: On Occasion.
Manufacturers comply with the parts-marking requirements when they
manufacture new vehicles. Manufacturers submit new target area
information when they introduce new vehicle lines or make changes to
existing vehicle lines that require changes to where parts are marked.
Manufacturers only submit information under part 542 when they
introduce new LDT lines.
Number of Responses: 1.
For the five information collections in part 541 and part 542,
NHTSA estimates the annual number of responses as follows: (1) 4.5
million for the parts-marking requirement; (2) 23 for submissions of
target area information; (3) 23 for maintaining of target area
information; (4) 1 for reporting on whether a LDT line is likely to be
high-theft; and (5) 1 for reporting on whether a LDT line shares
interchangeable parts with a high theft line subject to the parts-
marking requirements.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 150,550.
49 CFR Part 541: The agency estimates that, based on the most
currently available data, there has been a decrease in the production
of vehicles requiring parts-marking from 8 million vehicles to
approximately 4.5 million for all manufacturers. To calculate the
burden associated with the parts marking requirement, NHTSA assumes
that manufacturers will use the least burdensome method for complying
with the requirement, based on historical practice and the agency's
current understanding of how manufacturers fit labeling into the
vehicle assembly line. For the antitheft requirement, the cost of
labeling the major parts (i.e., a paper label with the VIN is placed on
each major part) is less than the cost of stamping the VIN on each
major part with a stamping machine.
To meet the Theft Prevention Standard, the agency estimates that
the time to number and affix the average of 14 labels to each vehicle
is approximately 2 minutes. If 4.5 million vehicles are covered, the
hourly burden for labeling 4.5 million motor vehicles would be 150,000
hours (4.5 million cars x 2 minutes per car / 60 minutes in an hour).
The agency estimates that the time to stamp both the engine and
transmission will take approximately 1 minute. If 4.5 million vehicles
are covered, the total burden for stamping is estimated to total 75,000
hours (4.5 million cars x 1 minute per car / 60 minutes in an hour).
Please note that in this analysis each vehicle would either have its
major parts labeled or stamped, but not both. As discussed above, since
affixing paper labels is estimated to be cost less for manufacturers,
NHTSA has estimated the burden of the parts marking requirements using
the estimates for affixing paper labels. Therefore, NHTSA estimates the
total burden for parts-marking to be 150,000 hours annually.
Each manufacturer of vehicles that are required to be parts-marked
must submit reports of the target area locations for the labels or
stamping. The target area designated for a part on a vehicle line shall
be maintained for the duration of the production of the vehicle line,
unless a restyling of the part makes it no longer practicable to mark
within the original target area. If there is such a restyling, the
vehicle manufacturer shall inform NHTSA of that fact and provide a new
target area submission. NHTSA estimates that there is no additional
hour burden to maintain the target area designation because maintaining
the designation is built into the production process of a new vehicle
line and the record of the target designation is kept electronically in
the normal course of business.
NHTSA estimates that approximately 70 target area responses will be
submitted to the agency in the next three years, or approximately 23

[[Page 26258]]

submissions each year. This estimate is based on the number of the
submissions over the three-year period for MYs 2019-2021. Specifically,
18, 29 and 23 target areas were submitted for MYs 2019, 2020 and 2021,
respectively. Due to the decreased production of vehicles requiring
parts-marking, the agency estimates on an average, there will be a
total of 23 target areas submitted by approximately 21 manufacturers.
The average time to prepare and submit the target areas is estimated to
be 20 hours for each submission. The burden hour for submissions will
be 460 hours (23 submissions x 20 hours).
NHTSA estimates the labor cost associated with this collection of
information by (1) applying the appropriate average hourly labor rate
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), (2) dividing by
0.702 \1\ (70.2%), for private industry workers to obtain the total
cost of compensation, and (3) multiplying by the estimated burden hours
for each respondent type. NHTSA estimates the labor costs associated
with preparing and affixing labels to 14 major parts under Sec.
541.5(a) using the average wage for manufacturers and assemblers in the
motor vehicle manufacturing industry (Standard Occupational
Classification #51-2000), which BLS estimates to be $23.18 \2\ per
hour. Using this estimate, NHTSA estimates the total compensation costs
per hour to be $33.02 per hour ($23.18 per hour / 0.702). The labor
cost per vehicle is estimated to be $1.10 ($33.02 x 2 minutes/60), and
the total labor cost for preparing and affixing labels to the estimated
4.5 million vehicles each year is estimated to be $4,953,000 ($1.10 x
4.5 million vehicles).
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\1\ See Table 1. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation by
ownership (Mar. 2020), available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_06182020.pdf (accessed August 31, 2021).
\2\ May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment
and Wage Estimates, NAICS 336100--Motor Vehicle Manufacturing,
Assemblers and Fabricators, Occupation Code 51-2000, https://www.bls.gov/oes/2020/may/oessrci.htm (accessed August 31, 2021).
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NHTSA estimates the labor costs associated with developing and
submitting reports of the target area locations for labels or stamping
under Sec. 541.5(e) using the average wage for compliance officers in
the motor vehicle manufacturing industry (Standard Occupational
Classification #13-1041), which BLS estimates to be $42.30 \3\ per
hour. Using this estimate, NHTSA estimates the total compensation costs
per hour to be $60.26 per hour ($42.30 per hour / 0.702). The labor
cost to prepare each report submitted under Sec. 541.5(e) is estimated
to be $1,205.20 ($60.26 x 20 hours per submission), and the total labor
cost for the estimated 23 target area reports that will be submitted
each year is estimated to be $27,720 ($1,205.20 x 23 reports, rounded).
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\3\ May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment
and Wage Estimates, NAICS 336100--Motor Vehicle Manufacturing,
Compliance Officer, Occupation Code 13-1041, https://www.bls.gov/oes/2020/may/naics4_336100.htm#13-0000 (accessed August 31, 2021).
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NHTSA estimates that Part 541 will impose an annual reporting
burden of 150,460 burden-hours, and the total estimated labor costs
associated with these burden hours endured by the responding
manufacturers are $4,977,720 ($4,950,000 + $27,720).
49 CFR Part 542: Currently there are seven manufacturers who
produce LDTs that could be subject to the parts-marking requirements.
While NHTSA estimates that all seven are still active in the U.S.
market, only manufacturers that introduce new LDT lines would be
required to report to NHTSA under 49 CFR 542.1 and 49 CFR 542.2. On
average, NHTSA estimates that approximately that one LDT line will be
introduced each year for which the manufacturer will need to submit
information under Sec. 542.1 and one LDT line will be introduced for
which the manufacturer will need to submit information under Sec.
541.2.
Section 542.1 specifies procedures for motor vehicle manufacturers
and the agency to follow in the determination of new LDT lines that are
likely to have a theft rate above or below the median theft rate of
3.5826. This section also provides the manufacturers with notice of
their rights and responsibilities during the selection and appeals
process. On average, NHTSA estimates that there will be approximately
one manufacturer submittal a year. NHTSA further estimates that the
burden for each Sec. 542.1 submittal is approximately 45 hours.
Therefore, the total annual burden for Sec. 542.1 submittals is
estimated to be 45 hours.
Section 542.2 specifies procedures for motor vehicle manufacturers
and NHTSA to follow in the determination of new LTD lines that will
likely have a low theft rate and have major parts interchangeable with
a majority of the major parts of a passenger motor vehicle line subject
to the parts-marking requirements. This section also provides the
manufacturers with notice of their rights and responsibilities during
the selection and appeal process. On average, NHTSA estimates that
there will be approximately one manufacturer submittal a year. NHTSA
further estimates that the burden for each Sec. 542.2 submittal is
approximately 45 hours. Therefore, the total annual burden for Sec.
542.2 submittals is estimated to be 45 hours.
NHTSA estimates the labor cost associated with this collection of
information by (1) applying the appropriate average hourly labor rate
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), (2) dividing by
0.702 \4\ (70.2%), for private industry workers to obtain the total
cost of compensation, and (3) multiplying by the estimated burden hours
for each respondent type.
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\4\ See Table 1. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation by
ownership (Mar. 2020), available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_06182020.pdf (accessed August 31, 2021).
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Table 1 below provides a summary of the estimated burden hours and
Table 2 provides a summary of the labor costs associated with the
burden hours.

Table 1--Total Estimated Burden Hours for Parts 541 and 542
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Estimated
IC No. ICR title Type of IC number of Estimated number of Estimated time per Total burden
respondents responses response hours
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1..................... 541: Parts-Marking on Third-Party Disclosure........ 21 4.5 million.......... 2 minutes............ 150,000
14 major parts (49
CFR 541.5(a)).
2..................... 541: Reporting of Reporting..................... 21 23................... 20 hours............. 460
Target Areas to
NHTSA.
3..................... Maintaining a Record Recordkeeping................. 21 21................... 0 hours.............. 0
of the Target Areas.
4..................... 542: Submissions for Reporting..................... 1 1.................... 45 hours............. 45
Determination of
whether LDT Line is
High Theft.
5..................... 542: Submission for Reporting..................... 1 1.................... 45 hours............. 45
Determination of
whether LDT line
Shares
Interchangeable
Parts with High
Theft Line.
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Total............. ..................... .............................. ........... ..................... ..................... 150,550
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Table 2--Estimated Labor Costs for Burden Hours
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Labor cost Time per Labor cost per Total burden Total labor
ICR No. ICR title per hour response response hours cost
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1................ 541: Parts- $33.02 2 minutes....... $1.10 150,000 $4,953,000
Marking on 14
major parts (49
CFR 541.5(a)).
2................ 541: Reporting of 60.26 20 hours........ 1,205.20 460 27,719.60
Target Areas to 27,720
NHTSA.
3................ Maintaining a N/A 0 hours......... N/A 0 0
Record of the
Target Areas.
4................ 542: Submissions 60.26 45 hours........ 2,711.70 45 2,711.70
for 2,712
Determination of
whether LDT Line
is High Theft.
5................ 542: Submission 60.26 45 hours........ 2,711.70 45 2,711.70
for 2,712
Determination of
whether LDT line
Shares
Interchangeable
Parts with High
Theft Line.
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Totals....... ................. ........... ................ .............. 150,550 4,986,114
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Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden: $24,003,000.
49 CFR Part 541: NHTSA assumes that most manufacturers will use the
less expensive method of labeling the major parts on vehicles, and not
stamp the VINs onto major parts, based on historical practice and the
agency's current understanding of how manufacturers fit labeling into
the vehicle assembly line. The cost of this collection of information
will comprise of printing costs for the labels affixed to the vehicle
parts. There are no additional costs to maintain the target area
designation because maintaining the designation is built into the
production process of a new vehicle line and the record of the target
designation is kept electronically in the normal course of business.
NHTSA estimates that the average cost to print each label is $0.381.
There are an average 14 parts per vehicle to label; therefore, the
printing cost per vehicle is $5.33. At present, the agency estimates
that 4.5 million motor vehicles annually must have their major parts
marked. The total annual costs are estimated to be $ 24,003,000 for
label identifiers ($5.33 x 4.5 million vehicles).

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Number of Total printing Number of Total
Information collection parts labeled Printing cost cost per vehicles per estimated
per vehicle per label vehicle year (million) printing cost
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541: Parts-Marking on 14 major parts (49 CFR 541.5(a))............. 14 $0.381 $5.33 4.5 $24,003,000
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Target area submissions require no additional costs to the
respondents above and beyond the labor costs.
49 CFR Parts 542: NHTSA estimates that meeting Part 542 involves no
additional costs to the respondents above and beyond the labor costs.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspects of
this information collection, including (a) whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of
the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected;
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of
responses.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. chapter
35, as amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29A.

Raymond R. Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2022-09390 Filed 5-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P