Slide May Have Hit Rock Bottom

PARAMUS, NJ—While there are signs the recession may have bottomed out, it seems that the printing industry is still experiencing a sales dropoff of historic proportions. According to the NAPL Printing Business Conditions report, the industry experienced the steepest slide for any three-month period in the 20-plus years it has tracked the industry.
Further, the NAPL offered little hope for a meaningful industry rebound in 2009, a year that is projected to record an all-time decline in sales of 8 to 12 percent. More than nine in 10 NAPL Printing Business Panel members reported their sales fell in the first quarter, with 71.1 percent reporting a decline of at least 10 percent, and 42 percent noting a decline of at least 20 percent.