Though July Sales Fell, More Printers Say Business Is Up

Sales fell 1.8% in July for the NAPL Printing Business Panel, the third consecutive decline and the fifth decline in six months. Sales are down 2.4% since May and 0.6% since January. During the same two periods last year, sales were up 7.9% and 7.0%, respectively.

For the first time in nearly a year, however, more printers say that business is picking up (38.2%) than slowing (34.8%). More report that work-on-hand (work-in-progress plus order backlog) is rising—19.5% in August, up from a record-low 7.5% in May—while fewer say it is falling—33.2% in August, down from a record-high 45.1% three months earlier. The Printing Business Index, NAPL's most comprehensive measure of printing activity, although still well below year-ago levels, is now up 17.3% from its April low.

NAPL says that print sales will grow 0.6% at most this year, and more likely will decline as much as 1.1%. Next year, depending on the timing and strength of the economy, print sales will grow between 1.8% and 4.0%.