Print Market Analysis -- Bearing the Market

March 2005

multipage

Having emerged from the recent election with the first popular vote majority since 1988 and firmer control of Congress, George W. Bush is pushing ahead with some of the programs he championed during the recent campaign.

Top of the list is a restructuring of the nation's creaking Social Security scheme, followed by reforms of America's tax and tort systems. All three reforms, however, will face stiff opposition from powerful, and entrenched, interest groups.

The crisis in Iraq continues to sap Mr. Bush's political capital, as the Iraqi elections look less and less likely to quell the insurgency. America's economy will remain strong, despite widening deficits in both the budget and the current account. A group of forecasters surveyed by The Economist predicts GDP growth of 3.5 percent in 2005.

A Look Ahead

So what's ahead for our industry? The two largest factors on industry sales—economic growth and advertising expenditures—are forecasted to improve in the near future. And the ban on telemarketing will continue to buoy the direct mail industry. As of 2004, printing in America constitutes a $170 billion industry with one million workers and 45,000 establishments.

U.S. PRINT MARKET SEGMENTS
(in Millions of U.S. Dollars)
 	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005(E)
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
General Commercial Printing	48,823	49,461	52,179	51,195	51,253	46,000	44,770
Magazines & Periodicals	7,952	8,822	8,759	8,119	8,006	9,105	10,000

Graphic Arts

Specialty Printing

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