2008 Full-Year Commercial Printing Shipments Were $98 Billion, Down -3.9%

Lexington, KY - WhatTheyThink, the leading online media organization serving the printing and publishing industry, today announced the availability of their most current report titled “Monthly U.S. Printing Shipments, Issue #39.” Authored by Dr. Joe Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center, the report is available for immediate purchase at:

http://www.wttstore.com/monthly-us-printing-shipments.html

“December commercial printing shipments were $8.0 billion, down -$501 million (-6%) compared to December 2007,” said Dr. Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center. “December closed a very tough year and a very tough fourth quarter,” he stated. The fourth quarter was  down -8.9% as retailers cut back on magazine advertising, catalogs, and newspaper inserts. Problems in the automotive and banking sectors also contributed to the declines.

Dr. Webb explained that 2009 will continue to challenge the commercial printing industry. “Recessions are not a time to retreat and hide. These are times where print clients are more receptive to new ideas and changing their roster of suppliers, and exploring new ways to use all types of communications media. The printing businesses that can offer a full range of media options that leverage electronic media and print in innovative ways with demonstrable and repeatable returns on investment will be the ones that thrive in this marketplace.”

The Monthly U.S. Printing Shipments Report contains both current and inflation-adjusted analysis of commercial printing and print services shipments, and forecasts for 2009 through 2013. It is comprised of Adobe PDF, Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint files, and an MP3 file of audio commentary from Dr. Webb. The cost of the report is $50.00. Those purchasing the it can easily repurpose the charts and data in presentations, and reports.

The report contains significant and proprietary analysis and by Dr. Webb and WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center. It is a top-level analysis of the U.S. commercial printing and trade services markets such as commercial offset, digital, and other printing processes, as well as prepress and postpress contained in the standard business classification NAICS 323.

http://www.wttstore.com/monthly-us-printing-shipments.html

WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center contains a blend of free and premium content for graphic arts and publishing executives. It offers an online library of primary research reports, executive summaries of economic trends, and related industry columns, videos, podcasts and webinars.

The Economics and Research Center is exclusively sponsored by MindFireInc, a provider of software technologies that leverage direct marketing and the Internet.


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About WhatTheyThink

WhatTheyThink is the printing and publishing industry's leading online media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. Serving a membership base of more than 50,000, WhatTheyThink also hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, which delivers content directly to related websites and through RSS. The organization also provides consulting and speakers bureau services to the industry.

About MindFireInc

Since 1999, MindFireInc has provided innovative applications and services that help marketers synchronize their direct mail campaigns with the Internet. MindFireInc's flagship product, LookWho'sClicking, is a web-based application suite that links the impact and power of direct mail with the interactive capabilities of the Internet. MindFireInc offers its product through a network of Value Added Resellers (VARs). The company's