June 2008 U.S. Commercial Printing Shipments Decrease; Dr. Joe Webb Revises 2008-2013 Forecasts

August 5, 2008 - Lexington, KY - WhatTheyThink, the leading online media organization serving the printing and publishing industry, today announced the availability of their most current report titled “Monthly U.S. Printing Shipments, Issue #33.” Authored by Dr. Joe Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center, the report is available for immediate purchase at:

www.wttstore.com/monthly-us-printing-shipments.html

“June printing shipments were $8.16 billion, down -$218 million (-2.6%) compared to June 2007,” said Dr. Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center. “On inflation-adjusted basis, shipments were down -$638 million or -7.3% compared to June 2007.”

“The last few months data have shown a difficult time for the industry,” Dr. Webb continued. “Even though the recent GDP estimates for the second quarter were positive, corporations are squeezing discretionary spending, to cope with rising costs and a worsening inflation outlook. Our report indicates that the number of people in graphic design and advertising production were down significantly in June. This is important because many print campaigns for the Fall and Holiday shopping seasons are developed in the summer. For this reason, we have decreased our forecasts for the rest of the year, and updated our forecasts through 2013.”

Dr. Webb continued by explaining that the media shifts over the past years are evident in the employment data. “The only content creation sector that has had an increase in employment is public relations. It's an affirmation of the strength of the Internet and its ability to reach audiences through search engines and other new formats. It's essential that printers tap into this trend with efforts that make public relations promotions, events, and sponsorships more effective with their target audiences.” Dr. Webb also indicated that printing organizations can be suppliers of “outsourcing” to their clients as they look for ways to cut costs. “Print businesses have a unique opportunity to create new services and new relationships with their customers.

The Monthly U.S. Printing Shipments Report contains both current and inflation-adjusted analysis of commercial printing and print services shipments, and forecasts of 2008 through 2013. It 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 it can easily repurpose the charts and data in presentations, and reports.

The report contains significant and proprietary analysis and by Dr. Webb and WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center. It is a top-level analysis of the U.S. commercial printing and trade services markets such as commercial offset, digital, and other printing processes, as well as prepress and postpress contained in the standard business classification NAICS 323.

www.wttstore.com/monthly-us-printing-shipments.html

WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center contains a blend of free and premium content for graphic arts and publishing executives. It offers an online library of primary research reports, executive summaries of economic trends, and related industry columns, videos, podcasts and webinars.

The Economics and Research Center is exclusively sponsored by MindFireInc, a provider of software technologies that leverage direct marketing and the Internet.

About WhatTheyThink

WhatTheyThink is the printing and publishing industry's leading online media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. Serving a membership base of more than 50,000, WhatTheyThink also hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, which delivers content directly to related websites and through RSS. The organization also provides consulting and speakers bureau services to the industry.

About MindFireInc

Since 1999, MindFireInc has provided innovative applications and services that help marketers synchronize their direct mail campaigns with the Internet. MindFireInc's flagship product, LookWho'sClicking, is a web-based application suite that links the impact and power of direct mail with the interactive capabilities of the Internet. MindFireInc offers its product through a network of Value Added Resellers (VARs). The company's web site is www.mindfireinc.com.

See more WhatTheyThink.com Press Releases.

Become a Member

Join the thousands of printing executives who are already part of the WhatTheyThink Community.