NAPL Economists: New Breed of Nimble Competitors Entering Printing ...:
The commercial printing industry continues to show significant consolidation. Based on the latest establishment data from the Bureau of the Census and NAPL estimates, the number of establishments in the commercial printing industry declined by almost 12,500 or 33.0% between 2012 and 1998—using 2007 as the base, the decline amounts to 5,500 establishments or almost 18%. These numbers provide information on the industry’s overall consolidation in terms of companies, and significantly fewer companies should translate into more business for survivors.
But establishment counts are just part of the story, they represent the net result of company births and deaths, so they do not provide information on the number of companies entering the industry. While the total number of companies continues to decline because the industry death rate is almost double the annual birth rate—see the chart below—we should not simply focus on the net result.
