Quarterly survey results show industry confidence, wariness of the US economy

Fairfax, Virginia – SGIA has released its Fourth Quarter 2012 Industry Pulse Benchmarking Reports for the graphics and sign, garment decoration and industrial printing communities. The reports examine sales and production indexes, employment figures, equipment purchases and confidence in the specialty graphics industry, as well as in the US economy as a whole.

"SGIA Benchmarking Reports provide a unique industry view of how companies are growing their businesses, how they purchase equipment and how they view the health of their business now and in the future," says Dan Marx, SGIA’s vice president of markets and technologies.

The full report provides a quarterly snapshot of each specialty graphic community as a place marker to guide businesses in making decisions.

Graphics & Sign Community
The fourth quarter of 2012 showed a softening of both sales and production indexes, while employment — which has been on the weak side of positive throughout the year — changed only slightly. Equipment purchases rose during the fourth quarter. While more than half of companies view the industry in a positive light, nearly 40 percent view the US economy negatively, thus tempering overall confidence.

Garment Decoration Community
Following strong sales and production figures for the first three quarters of the year, the fourth quarter ended on a soft note, dropping markedly on both indexes. Employment ended the year in slightly positive territory, lower than previous quarters. One-third of companies purchased equipment, and two-thirds expect to purchase in the year ahead. Confidence in the industry is quite strong, and this segment’s view of the US economy is essentially neutral.

Industrial Printing Community 
Compared with figures for the first three quarters of 2012, the fourth quarter of the year was particularly soft with sales and production indexes taking a significant hit. While equipment purchases remained strongly in positive territory, employment improved only slightly. While overall confidence in the US economy is more negative than positive, confidence in the industry is quite strong.

SGIA members can see all of the results from the Fourth Quarter 2012 Industry Pulse Surveys by accessing the full reports at SGIA.org, Keyword: Survey.

The 2013 First Quarter Industry Pulse survey is currently open for participation for SGIA members and nonmembers of each community — click the link to begin taking the survey immediately. Participants will receive the full report by email.