Printing

　　WhatTheyThink, the leading online media organization serving the printing and publishing industry, today announced the availability of their most current report titled “North American Monthly Printing Shipments, Issue #65.” This report is free to Premium Members of WhatTheyThink.

　　This report is available for immediate purchase for others at:
　　https://store.whattheythink.com/monthly-u-s-printing-shipments

　　February 2011 commercial printing shipments were $6.6 billion, up $280 million (+4.4%) compared to 2010. Adjusting for inflation, shipments were up +2.2%. “January's shipments were also revised higher by $59 million compared to initial reports,” explained Dr. Joe Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center. “January and February shipments benefited from easy comparisons to very bad months in 2010. We have to be realistic about the rest of the year because of that, and expect 2011 to be about even with the remaining 10 months of 2010. But we do hope that the positive comparisons continue.”

　　Dr. Webb stated that the seasonality of the industry had changed in recent years and that March's performance is likely to be critical in understanding the forecasts for the rest of the year. He said “Commercial printing employment increased slightly from February to March, which is a sign that shipments increased as expected. We're anxious to see the extent of that increase.”

　　Dr. Webb emphasized that this period of improved shipments should be considered as breathing room to get ready for some significant changes in communications technologies. “Business owners need to carefully reorganize their operations for the continuing pressures of tablet PCs, smartphones, social media, and the ingrained habits of instantly accessible information and media. The pressures for consolidation in the printing industry will persist, and it's important that businesses that do combine do so in a proactive way that creates new product offerings for the increased preference and reliance for digital media.”

　　The latest report includes a discussion of February's shipments, Canada's January shipments, and updated forecasts for the North American printing industry to 2017.

[时间：2011-04-06]