The Small Business Times has report on declining employment numbers within the printing industry in Wisconsin. The industry has lost about 5,000 jobs since it peaked in 1999 at 39,444 people.
The report touches on many of the factors printers across the US are dealing with: difficulty finding employees interested in printing, offshoring, soft ad spending and the weak economy.
None of the CEO's quoted mentioned competition with electronic and online communication and the article only briefly mentioned changing communication methods in relation to newspapers.
Many of the CEO's interview said they are combating labor shortages with technology to automate production processes. And using lean manufacturing principles to increase efficiency.
Read the whole article at Small Business Times.
Discussion
By George Alexander on Sep 08, 2008
As gloomy as the Wisconsin sitution is, Wisconsin is actually doing well compared with the US printing industry overall. Wisconsin, according to the numbers in the article you cite, has lost about 21% of its printing jobs, but the country as a whole has lost 27%. The national statistics are here:
http://www.beyond-print.de/site/content/en/channel_news/news_0360.html
By Nick T. on Sep 08, 2008
"difficulty finding employees interested in printing"
i guess the word is out that salaries have been on the decline over the past 5 years...
By Brian Regan on Sep 08, 2008
Salaries are down in general across most industries.
By Michael Josefowicz on Sep 08, 2008
But isn't less people also an indication of improved productivity? If the tech revolutions and process control are having an effect wouldn't that mean employment is at least flat.
No doubt the print market is shrinking. But it would be interesting to know how the volume of print shipped during the same period worked out.
Maybe something like $ shipped/per employee. If that number is increasing maybe there is a different story that comes from these numbers?
By Michael Janes on Sep 09, 2008
Do we have any figures for total sales $'s vs. total profits? This would also be a good indicator of the state of the print market.
Or better yet total impressions printed vs. total profits...since prices fluctuate depending on the level of service performed.
I believe we are part of a shrinking market, and a lot of smaller companies or less diverse ones are slowly being eliminated. Looking at one or two companies or just one state may not be enough to indicate what is really going on...and it won't tell a lot if you are in a good niche.
Also customer's expect more for the same money.
Too many variables...too little time to figure it all out :)
By Michael Josefowicz on Sep 10, 2008
Michael
I agree that we are in a shrinking market. Although I think there are still some who think "it will be ok, when the economy rebounds."
And I agree that when you a running a business, ratios are not very useful. If your firm is successful, why bother? If your firm is not successful you are too busy keeping the boat afloat to bother. Mostly there are just too many things to do in a day.
You say "I believe we are part of a shrinking market, and a lot of smaller companies or less diverse ones are slowly being eliminated.."
I agree and disagree. Shrinking market? yes.
"less diverse ones are slowly being eliminated",
not so much.
From what I've seen the way to survive and grow is NOT to diversify, but to specialize.
It's more like:
Do at least one thing great. Find the niche that needs that one great thing you do. Keep doing it better and better. If that is working, than find another thing that your customers need, and become great at that.
That's one lesson from the printing companies that made it to the Inc 5000 list that Adam posted last week.
The thing about looking at revenue/ employee time is that might help figure out the things that your company is already doing great.
Just to be clear, Great in this context means profitable and sustainable going forward. It doesn't mean what some of your present customers like alot or what the buzz du jour is focused on.
By Greg Neighbors on Sep 10, 2008
Adam your article on "Wisconsin's Shrinking Printing Industry" is really a microcosm of what our Country's Printing Industry has been facing for years.
As an Executive Recruiter with over 20 years experience specializing in the printing industry Nationwide, I've experienced these factors first hand. I have witnessed over the past decade a continuous decline in the availablility of quality skilled managers and labor. It's true advances in technology have made a positive difference. We're leaner, entire conventional prepress departments have been eliminated. Modern press equipment can print almost 2-3 times faster than before. Products that required the use of 2-3 presses can now be produced on 1, and with better quality. Finishing equipment is faster than ever. But even with these advances, the question remains... Who's going to run this modern equipment ? Who's going to manage ? The high school/GED and college graduates of today have more employment options than ever before. Continued minimum wage increases, advances and development in the IT and other related industries, all have created new job opportunities. Competition for labor is fierce. The printing industry offers tremendous career opportunities. Ben Franklin became a millionare....as a printer. But who knows that ? As large as it is, most young people are unware of the printing industry. If the industry as a whole wants to remain competetive, we must find new and better methods of promoting itself.
Another factor you mentioned is a "soft economy", but is it really that soft ? The National GNP for 2nd quarter 2008 grew by 3.3% ! Is that soft ? The media and the up and down nature of the stock market have our country running scared. True certain industries are suffering. The real estate and mortage industry debacle,(even though I believe they have only themselves to blame), has had some negative affect. But our nations economy is still strong.
I believe the biggest culprit and most difficult challenge our economy and our printers face is the cost of energy, or more specifically the cost of oil. I'm not just talking about the price for a gallon gas. That alone has had a negative effect on our economy and our industry. Shipping, ground and air freight, mailing costs have all increased. The two most important "oil related" cost increases are paper and inks. We need oil to produce ink and paper. These cost increases have all made it increasingly difficult for any printer to make a profit.
Even with the advances in E-friendly "Green" and "Lean" manufacturing principles, we still need oil. As a country we have to finds ways to lower our cost of oil.
If certain "powers that be" are successful in passing a "carbon tax", the price of oil and printing costs will sky-rocket, as a result these costs will pass through to the consumer. The outcome...well you figure it out, we'll all be looking for jobs.
By Nick T. on Sep 10, 2008
when you have this type of decline in payscale it's easy to see why:
http://members.whattheythink.com/erc/charts080825.cfm
By Michael Josefowicz on Sep 11, 2008
So then the problem is not educating students about how great print is. It's figuring out business models that rewards high performers, either with cash or with other benefits.
By Michael Josefowicz on Sep 12, 2008
Found the following at PR release at What They Think..
(September 11, 2008) VistaPrint Limited, the small business marketing company, today announced that it is expanding its state-of-the-art production facility in Windsor, Ontario for the second time since 2005. The expansion plans will include almost 140,000 square feet of additional space built out for both manufacturing and office use. This expansion marks a commitment to the area and the people of Windsor, which have been dedicated partners with VistaPrint since its facility opened in the summer of 2005.
Notice that they describe themselves and ARE a small business marketing company. They seem to be doing fine. While some in the industry scratched our heads and wondered how they could afford to "give away" their printing, they put the print into their advertising budget, and built a community of small business people who need marketing. Oh yea...and some printing too.
It's not for every one. But while some are dying, others are thriving.
By Michael Josefowicz on Sep 12, 2008
Sorry for the spam. But..another press release at WTT. I think it gives a different approach to "education."
Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) recently opened its first Print Media Academy (PMA) in India, in the city of Chennai. As a result, the company has a knowledge platform for the print media industry that now spans all four of the BRIC countries - the key global growth regions of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Heidelberg now runs a total of more than 18 PMA sites in 15 different countries.
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