Printing Machinery Up Less Than 1% in 2002

While printing equipment prices didn't exhibit any actual deflation over the course of 2002, for the fourth consecutive year average prices rose by less than 1%—by 0.8% in 2002, following three years when inflation averaged only 0.6%.

Average prices in the offset lithographic printing press category were absolutely unchanged over the year. The price index for the miscellaneous "not elsewhere classified" category declined by 0.6%, on an annual average basis of measure, between 2001 and 2002. Average prices of printing trades machinery thrown into this miscellaneous group were actually 1.0% higher during December 2002 than at year-end 2001.

The other (non-litho) printing presses product group recorded a modest 0.6% annualized average price increase last year, after a gain of almost the same amount the year before, but saw only small declines during both 1999 and 2000. Thus, the only real evidence of even modest inflation comes from the binding machinery and equipment category. Average prices for machinery in this category rose by 2.3% on an annual average basis between 2001 and 2002, and by 3.1% between December 2001 and December 2002.

On balance, the inflation numbers demonstrate how difficult it has been for U.S. manufacturers of printing machinery to raise prices much, if at all, over the course of the past several years.