Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 14, 1993 TAG: 9302120515
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHLEEN WILSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
ECONOMIC CENSUS: MISERY THAT LOVES COMPANIES
Tommy Thomas is suffering the same sort of headache that must agonize an accountant when April 15 rolls around: He faces filing his own tax form while preparing those of his customers.Thomas is manager of George's An Affair With Flowers; D-day is Monday, just one day after Valentine's Day, which generally is the busiest time of year for a florist.
But for Thomas, and operators of America's other 3.5 million businesses, Monday is the deadline for filing economic-census forms.
Though not as widely known as the population census conducted every decade, information culled from the Department of Commerce's census is the economic benchmark by which many daily decisions are made.
Taken every five years, the census is a vital tool used in gathering monthly retail sales and gross-domestic-product figures.
Economic-census reports can play a vital role in an area's development. Firms considering a move to Southwest Virginia are likely to use the census to determine the economic feasibility of relocating or expanding.
The reports are on file in Roanoke at the Fifth Planning District Commission office on Luck Avenue. Planner Debbie Kendall said companies use the census when examining market trends to determine whether their plans are economically sound.
"Industries use the census if [they're] thinking of making a move to this area," she said. "If there's a decline in some area of manufacturing, it might discourage a firm from locating here."
For those who might question its accuracy, consider that past censuses accurately forecast the demise of two American institutions - drive-in theaters and door-to-door salespeople - as well as the growing popularity of the pickup truck.
It was economic-census material behind the charts Ross Perot used on his presidential campaign infomercials last fall.
And though they had vastly different plans for overhauling the economy, all three presidential candidates agreed on one thing:
Business and industry can contribute to better government by providing better information.
Data gathered from the census are most often used by government and the media, but Paul Zeisset of the U.S. Bureau of Census pointed out that it can be important to even the smallest of businesses.
"The real benefactor of the census is business," said Zeisset. "It's the single most complete set of statistics tailored specifically to just about any business."
By using the census report, even neighborhood mom-and-pop operations can calculate their share of the market, develop better business plans and compare themselves to industry averages.
More than 500 versions of the census form exist to best suit information specific to various sizes and kinds of business.
While smaller outfits are required to fill out just one form, the census forms sent to colossal operations such as Sears, Roebuck and Co. and General Motors Corp. are so voluminous they must be delivered by truck, according to the government.
Thomas, the Roanoke florist, received the one-page 1992 Census of Retail Trade for Florists.
But the questions he must answer include ultra-specific information to his particular business, such as the volume of cut flowers arranged or unarranged and the number of blooming potted plants or non-blooming potted plants.
"They want to know how many billions of dollars we do," Thomas laughed. "I wish!" But a moment later he rationalized he's got his hands full with George's business of $500,000 a year.
Carilion Health System, the Roanoke Valley's largest employer and Virginia's largest hospital company, so far has received only one form to complete, for its Burrell Continuing Care Center in Roanoke.
"If we get a form for each of the seven hospitals and 20 or so other businesses under Carilion, we'll be tied up for quite a while," said Mike Williams, Carilion's accounting manager.
And just as some people complain that the general census gets too personal by asking whether a household has indoor plumbing, the economic census probes deeply into companies' revenue, consumption of various materials and annual payroll. Such information is held confidential.
"Small businesses don't typically think of using this information," said Zeisset.
But if, for example, a hardware store wanted to secure a loan for expansion, information in the census report might help convince a bank that it's a sound business opportunity.
When restaurateur Ben Hiatt investigated adding a Roanoke restaurant to his collection of eateries that primarily were in Northern Virginia, he launched an intensive market-research effort.
Information from the last economic census supported his belief that the Lone Star Cantina and Brewery was a viable investment, even though it was at a location where a previous operation had just failed.
"We came away with a very favorable view of Roanoke's downtown area," said Hiatt, president of Entrepreneurs, the management firm that oversees the Lone Star.
"Through the economic census, we were able to calculate the number of restaurants and types of food," he said. "In some cases, we were able to estimate their volume."
The economic census has predicted such things as the fastest growing service industry (computer software) and other surging business ventures such as cellular phones and video-tape rentals.
The census also calculates information on the percentage of foreign content in American goods, with roasted coffee and petroleum ranking at the top.
Zeisset admits most businesses find the census form a burden to fill out. "You won't get a ringing endorsement for filling out the form," he said. "But it is a vital part of what we need to run our country."
\ THE ECONOMIC CENSUS\ \ Survey forms were mailed to 3.5 million U.S. businesses in December.
\ Monday is the deadline for returning them to the Bureau of the Census.
\ The penalty for failure to report is $500, and $10,000 for willfully providing false information.
\ The first census of American business was taken in 1810; it was a survey of manufacturers. The first census of business, covering retail and wholesale trade, was in 1930. The censuses were suspended during World War II and resumed in 1947. The 1954 economic census was the first to include a wider variety of companies.
\ The 1992 census includes about 90 new categories, such as companies classified in the communications, utilities, financial, insurance and real estate industries. It also is the first to survey businesses owned by women.
\ Preliminary data from the census will be available in late 1993, with fuller reports issued in 1994 and 1995.
\ For more details, contact the Census Bureau's regional office, 222 S. Church St., Suite 505, Charlotte, N.C. 28202-3220. Or phone (704) 344-6144.