COMMERCIAL PRINTING Outlook -- Shadows Cast on 2006

One sure thing in 2006 is that postage rates will go up. This may have the effect of giving an artificial boost to industry performance at the close of 2005 and depressing it in early 2006 to the extent its practical for print buyers to speed up projects to beat the increase.

Like printers, paper manufacturers are still struggling to regain pricing power and bring capacity more in line with demand. The demands of the manufacturing process and delivery make them especially sensitive to energy price increases, but they've also met resistance when attempting to pass through such costs via surcharges or other price increases. That doesn't mean they won't keep trying.