According to
WhatTheyThink?, a leading research organization serving the printing and publishing industry, January 2011 commercial printing shipments were $6.7 billion, up $270 million (+4.1%) compared to 2010. Adjusting for inflation, shipments were up +2.5%. Shipments for 2010 were also revised to be $86.7 billion. “Despite a dreadful first quarter in 2010, the remaining months were up +3%, to finish the year slightly higher than 2009,” explained Dr. Joe Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center. “January's shipment rise benefited from an easy comparison to the first quarter of 2010, but it continued a string of 10 months of positive comparisons to the prior year. We hope it continues.”
Dr. Webb stated that the industry should consider this as breathing room to get ready for another wave of technological competition. “Healthy businesses constantly restructure themselves for the changes they foresee in their marketplace. Print businesses need to use this time well, and carefully reorganize their operations for the continuing pressures of communications technologies. 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.”
WhatTheyThink produces monthly Printing Shipments Reports that contains both current and inflation-adjusted analysis of commercial printing and print services shipments. The lastest report also provides forecasts for 2011 through 2017 and is comprised of Adobe PDF, Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint files, and an MP3 file of audio commentary from Dr. Webb. The cost of the report is $50.00. Those purchasing the report can easily repurpose the charts and data in presentations, webinars, and other reports. For more information about the report go to:
https://store.whattheythink.com/monthly-u-s-printing-shipments