For-hire Motor Carrier Freight Services Price Index (FHMCFSPI)

Detailed information for third quarter 2016

The purpose of this survey is to collect and compile data to measure the monthly change in the movement of the price for for-hire motor carrier freight services. These prices are combined and chained to form a price index. The estimates are produced on a quarterly basis.

Data release - December 22, 2016

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The For-hire Motor Carrier Freight industry is a vital part of the Canadian economy and the services that the industry provides is crucial for an effective and efficient flow of goods. The For-hire Motor Carrier Freight Services Price Report survey collects prices of service/shipment transactions which are essential to the creation of a price index for this sector. The index measures the movement of prices for the services that are provided by the trucking industry.

The For-hire Motor Carrier Freight Services Price Index can be used by businesses to measure their performance against industry standards, to plan marketing strategies or to prepare business plans for investors. Governments use index data to develop national and regional economic policies and to develop programs to promote domestic and international competitiveness. The data are also used by trade associations, business analysts and investors to study the economic performance and characteristics of the industry.

The index data provides a better deflator for Statistic Canada's System of National Accounts for this sector of the economy.

Statistical activity

These indexes are a part of the Services Producer Price Index program (SPPI) at Statistics Canada.

The SPPI program develops and produces price indexes for a wide range of business service categories. This initiative fills an important data gap in the area of economic statistics and has resulted in a more comprehensive set of service price indexes. It also allows Statistics Canada to produce more accurate estimates of real value added of the Gross Domestic Product and changes in productivity.

Reference period: The time period for which the FHMCFSPI equals 100; currently this is the year 2013.

Collection period: Collection begins the last week of the quarter and continues until the end of the second month of the following quarter.

Subjects

• Prices and price indexes
• Service price indexes
• Transportation
• Transportation by road

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population for this survey is all establishments in the Trucking Industry that were classified under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS=484) Truck Transportation, generating more than $1,000,000 annual revenue.

It is expected that the establishments with less revenue are owner-operators and their revenue is counted within the larger enterprises as they are contracted to do hauling by the larger enterprises.

• Additional documentation

Instrument design

The For-hire Motor Carrier Freight Services Price Report questionnaire was developed at Statistics Canada and was reviewed and tested in the field in both official languages by the Questionnaire Design Resource Centre. In the course of developing the questionnaire, Statistics Canada consulted with a number of large carrier companies.

Respondents are asked to report for services and prices which they consider to be typical and representative of their business and that they can price each cycle.

Respondents are requested to provide estimates in cases where they did not have the specific shipment for the selected month.

When the services specified are no longer being provided or representative, new specifications are obtained from the respondent.

The electronic questionnaire was introduced in Q1 2015.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a longitudinal design.

Sample and weighting information is derived from the transportation activity data obtained through the Business Register Frame.

The sample consists of trucking businesses which were selected based on establishment revenue and stratified by 5-digit NAICS. Each NAICS stratum was further stratified by take-all (large units) and take-some (smaller units).

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

Monthly data are collected on a quarterly basis via electronic questionnaire (EQ), while telephone communication (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) is used for non-response and data follow-up. Several follow-up contacts can be made including sending out an email, fax or letter reminder in order to collect data.

An initial telephone interview with the respondent consists of identifying and collecting baseline information which is then returned on subsequent EQ in order to continue to price the same specifications, which form the basis of the price indexes.

When the services specified are no longer being provided or representative, new specifications and pricing are provided by the respondent.

Respondents are asked to provide estimates in cases where they do not have the specific shipment for the selected month.

Information about the time it takes respondents to complete the survey questionnaire is collected and monitored closely. Currently, it takes respondents an average of 23 minutes to complete the survey.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

Error detection is conducted at the time of data collection and also during post collection processing, using a set of systematized error detection procedures to identify outliers and possible reporting anomalies. Records that fail these edits are reviewed for editing and correction when necessary or edit failure may trigger a follow-up with the respondent.

Time and effort is devoted to keeping the specifications constant such that only the pure changes in price are tracked. Some information is also collected in order to ensure, as much as possible, that the collected data correspond to the same specifications over time. This constant quality price then feeds into the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts' (CSMA) estimates of constant dollar GDP.

Imputation

Missing data are generally estimated by a systematized imputation process. In any given period, price data may not be available for estimation. In such cases, missing data are imputed using the average price movement of remaining units within the same stratum (overall mean or targeted mean imputation method).

Estimation

Prices
An initial collection, done by phone, gathers specifications of the service covering NAICS, commodity carried, weight, origin, destination, distance, and type of pricing used (e.g. contract), to serve as a model for pricing in subsequent questionnaires. Monthly price quotes are collected quarterly from respondents by electronic questionnaire (EQ). The price is defined as the amount charged by a carrier for delivering a specific freight between selected origin and destination under certain terms.
The price consists of a base price, minus discounts, plus surcharges (fuel and/or other).
Taxes are not included.

Weights
The For-hire Motor Carrier Freight Services Price Index FHMCFSPI) uses establishment revenues as its weighting source.

Quality evaluation

An in-depth assessment of quality is conducted prior to the dissemination of estimates. This assessment is based on two key elements of quality (accuracy and coherence); as defined in Statistics Canada's guidelines for the validation of statistical outputs.

The survey's data collection strategy is designed to ensure that targeted response rates are met every cycle. Analysts pay close attention to this metric and react appropriately to ensure that the survey's coverage of the industry is thorough. Particular attention is also given to ensuring that sampled products or services are representative of actual transactions happening in the market place. These two activities, fundamental to the overall quality of the estimates, are done consistently.

Analysts also undertake additional validation activities every cycle to ensure the coherence of survey estimates. These include among others activities: analysis of price changes over time (including analysis of trends), at the business/company, industry, subsector and sector levels; certification of key contributors to price change; and confrontation of estimates against other related data sources. Contextual analysis of survey results is also performed in light of prevailing economic conditions.

Engagements with relevant stakeholders are also undertaken periodically. Forums involving other Statistics Canada analysts, industry stakeholders and partners at other national and international statistical agencies provide valuable insights that inform the development and research agenda of the program.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Collected data are converted to price indexes and data are released as such, so that it is not possible to identify the suppliers of raw prices.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Data for the most recent quarter are preliminary. The previous quarter of the series is subject to revision. The series is also subject to an annual revision released with second quarter data of the following reference year. The indexes are not seasonally adjusted.

Data accuracy

The statistical accuracy of this index depends on price and weight data obtained from sample surveys. Each type of input data is subject to its own errors. Processing procedures for editing and imputation are in place to ensure the quality of data. Consequently, the aggregate indices at all levels are considered to be statistically reliable.