December was a good month for the printing industry, with current dollar shipments up +$534 million, or +6.6%. November's shipments were revised up by +$43 million as well. The strong close to the year meant that the industry was up almost +$1.6 billion compared to 2005, an increase of +1.7%, for total shipments of $91.4 billion.

On an inflation-adjusted basis, December shipments were up a hearty +3.4%, or +$348 million. On an inflation-adjusted basis, shipments for 2006 were down by -$1.3 billion. The last five months of the year, however, demonstrated real gains, well beyond any inflationary effects.

It must be remembered that 2005 was an exceptionally weak year, and that the industry is -$1.8 billion smaller than it was in 2004 on a current-dollar basis, and -$8 billion on an inflation adjusted basis.

Detailed analysis will appear in Mondays with Dr. Joe on February 5 at WhatTheyThink.com

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