July 2008 U.S. Commercial Printing Shipments Down; No Bounce from Elections or Olympic Promotions

September 4, 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 #34.” 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

“July printing shipments were $7.67 billion, down -$194 million (-2.4%) compared to June 2007,” said Dr. Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center. “Normally, February is the slowest month of the print year, but this July was quite atypical. It is a sign that technology trends, the slower economy, and new media acceptance are affecting print demand. Corporations are still squeezing discretionary spending to cope with rising costs and concerns about worldwide markets.” Dr. Webb noted that the slight rises in print volume in election years and from Olympic promotions has faded over the years.

The new report also contains an historical analysis of the industry metrics of shipments per employee. “Since 1994, shipments per production employee have gone up by 60%. But once you adjust for inflation, it's only a 12% rise. That's just under 1% annually,” said Dr. Webb.

The industry is grappling with the effects of shifting media budget allocations. Earlier this year, General Motors announced they were pouring more money into digital media formats. Dr. Webb feels that their announcement was more of a confirmation of changes that were already underway. The magazine market appears to be hardest hit by the shift in the auto industry. The Internet plays a major role in auto purchases today, affecting the use of brochures and other sales support materials, according to Dr. Webb.

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.

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