Output Fell Early in Year For Printing, Publishing

Following solid 3.0% growth between 1999 and 2000, production in the U.S. printing/publishing industrial sector fell sharply during the early months of this year.

Preliminary estimates from the Federal Reserve Board's industrial production survey show printing and publishing output declining at a 10.1% seasonally adjusted annualized rate during Q1 2001. Additionally, after recording no net change in production during April, the industry's total output level dipped another 1.2% during the month of May alone. Overall printing/publishing production was 4.6% lower this May than during May 2000.

Newspaper industry output has been especially weak. Through April 2001 (production estimates for specific printing/publishing sectors trail estimates for the composite industry by one month), year-to-date output in the newspaper sub-group was trailing the total for the first four months of 2000 by 12.1%. The periodicals/books/cards industry sub-sector, on the other hand, had fared much better through the first third of this year, with output running 3.2% ahead of a year earlier.