US commercial printing shipments for the first quarter were down -$42 million compared to 2012 (-0.22%), at $19.3 billion. Q1 shipments may have been distorted by a strong January, likely caused by delayed buying by small businesses as they delayed purchases in tax planning efforts in December 2012.
March 2013 shipments were $6.771 billion, down -$163 million, or -2.4% compared to 2012 (-3.8% after inflation). Both February and March had similar comparisons, raising concerns of a negative pattern emerging for the rest of the year.
