The Annual Survey of Manufacturing and Logging Industries (ASML) measures both revenues from goods manufactured as well as total revenues. It should be noted that when comparing to the sales of goods manufactured variable from the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing (MSM), users should use the first concept, revenues from goods manufactured from the ASML. The total revenues published from the ASML measures a broader concept as it includes revenues from activities other than manufacturing. For example, total revenues includes goods purchased for resale, investment and interest revenues. Total revenues from the ASML therefore cannot be compared to sales of goods manufactured published by the MSM.
The two surveys answer different user needs. The Monthly Survey of Manufacturing is built to provide an indicator on the state of the manufacturing sector and track monthly changes, i.e. provide information on the trend, while the Annual Survey of Manufacturing and Logging Industries is built to paint a detailed picture on the total dollar values of the industries, i.e. to provide information on the levels.
In order to provide information on trend that is not altered by changes in the sample, the sample of the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing is redrawn every five years, while the sample of the Annual Survey of Manufacturing and Logging Industries is renewed every year.
Both surveys are subject to revisions, however the two surveys will not produce identical results mainly because of methodological differences. For example, there are differences in sampling strategies (as described above), respondents reporting on the annual survey for a fiscal year that is different from a January to December calendar year, auxiliary data sources (MSM uses GST data, while ASML uses T2 tax data for imputation and calibration), imputation methods (for a particular record, MSM may use historical imputation, while ASML may use a donor to impute, or vice versa).
For more information on data sources and methodology please visit the following links:
Annual Survey of Manufacturing and Logging Industries (ASML)