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Total commercial printing shipments decrease in 2011
The end of 2011 saw fewer commercial printing shipments in the United States from a year ago, according to recent analysis.
In a column for What They Think, Joe Webb writes that that total shipping totaled $6.96 billion during the month of December, down $207 million compared to the same time period last year. Shipments were down in 2011 as a whole as well, at 5.4 percent lower than 2010 levels. The last quarter of the year was substantially lower, dropping 2.2 percent with fewer items being sent out. Webb predicts that for 2012, total shipping will total around $80 billion.
"It is still generally believed that a stronger economy will raise print purchases, but the statistical relationship with GDP is still negative," Webb writes. "This means that rises in GDP, on a statistical basis, result in decreases in print shipments."
One of the reasons for lower shipping numbers could be shifting technology. While some in the sector have been slow to adopt new tools, others have seen the benefits of web-to-print software and other programs.
