October US Commercial Printing Shipments Increase (Economics & Research):
October 2012 US commercial printing shipments were up +$251 million, or +3.6% versus 2011, the first positive October since 2010. “On an inflation-adjusted basis, shipments were up +$100 million, or +1.4%,” said Dr. Joe Webb, Director of the WhatTheyThink Economics & Research Center. The latest report of shipments has been released by Dr. Webb and Strategies for Management, Inc. Dr. Webb also reported that the contraction in September’s shipments were revised down by another $49 million. “September was a difficult month. Shipments were down -3.9% on a current dollar basis and down -5.8% after adjusting for inflation compared to 2011,” he explained. Profits adjusted for inflation improved on a short-term basis. For Q3-2012 were $1.45 billion compared to $1.29 billion in Q2. Dr. Webb believes that despite the long-term downward trend in shipments, profits are no longer being dragged down by poor-performing print businesses. “In a bad economy, being a poor performing business means you have little access to capital, and almost no freedom of action, so it is easy to get pushed out of the marketplace.”
