Industry Data
This section focuses on analyzing the structural change of the industry. As a service to the printing and publishing industries, WhatTheyThink provides access to economic, industry trends and other data that is valuable to industry executives for strategic planning and research purposes.
Printing Industry Snapshot
A collection of regularly updated industry data about various measures of business activity. Continuously updated.
US Commercial Printing Establishments
The number of establishments in the US organized by NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System). Updated annually.
JUST RELEASED
Printing Outlook 2021 - The WhatTheyThink Overview of the Current State of the Printing Industry
The new Printing Outlook 2021 report provides detailed analysis of the latest WhatTheyThink Business Outlook Survey, the latest industry economic data and macroeconomic trends, as well as industry and cultural technological trends to look out for in 2021.
Data Analysis
March Graphic Arts Employment—Getting Back to Work
In March 2021, all printing employment was up +1.5% from February, production employment up +1.1%, and non-production printing employment up +2.2%. Full Analysis
Printing 2021 Quick Look: Top Investments
According to data from our recently published Printing Outlook 2021 special report, one-fourth of print businesses have no major investment plans for 2021. Full Analysis
European Print Industry Snapshot: Portugal
In this bimonthly series, WhatTheyThink is presenting the state of the printing industry in different European countries based on the latest monthly production numbers. This week, we take a look at the printing industry in Portugal. Full Analysis
Newspaper Publishing Employees—2010–2018
According to County Business Patterns, in 2010, there were 264,833 employees in NAICS 51111 (Newspaper Publishing). By 2018, employees had decreased to 153,060. In macro news, Q1 GDP was up 6.4%. Full Analysis
Shipments: They Can Only Get Better from Here
We didn’t kick off 2021 very auspiciously, with January printing shipments coming in at $6.57 billion, down from December 2020’s $7.17 billion, and then a further drop in February to $6.34 billion. Full Analysis
Printing 2021 Quick Look: Top Challenges
According to data from our recently published Printing Outlook 2021 special report, recovering business lost to COVID and national economic conditions dominated printers’ top challenges—but traditional challenges will gain prominence post-COVID. Full Analysis
European Print Industry Snapshot: Spain
In this bimonthly series, WhatTheyThink is presenting the state of the printing industry in different European countries based on the latest monthly production numbers. This week, we take a look at the printing industry in Spain. Full Analysis
Publishing Employees—2010–2018
According to County Business Patterns, in 2010, there were 907,152 employees in NAICS 511 (Publishing Industries—except Internet). By 2018, employees had increased to 1,015,946. In macro news, retail sales were up 9.8% in March. Full Analysis
Printing 2021 Quick Look: 2021 Profits
According to data from our recently published Printing Outlook 2021 special report, print businesses expect a +8.1% increase in profits from 2020 to 2021. Full Analysis
Profits: Back to the Tale of Two Cities
We’ve long been calling it “a tale of two cities”—large printers and small/mid-size printers and the profitability gap between them. The pandemic interrupted this ongoing narrative temporarily, but back in Q3 2020, we started to return to normal, at least in terms of industry profits trends, which continued into Q4. Full Analysis
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