IBISWorld Report: Commercial Printing Industry Decline to Continue, But Pace to Slow

NEW YORK—March 10, 2014—The printing industry, which includes large commercial printers and local print shops, endured a variety of challenges over the past five years. According to IBISWorld Industry Analyst Omar Khedr, “Consumers are increasingly favoring digital alternatives, such as online media, over printed materials.” For many media products, printed text has become too slow and costly to produce. Moreover, during the past five years, demand for print advertisements, a key demand driver for this industry, has consistently fallen. As a result, newer forms of media, such as digital, have been siphoning demand away from this industry. Consequently, the printing industry is in decline with revenue expected to decrease at an average annual rate of 2.1 percent in the five years to 2014. In 2014, revenue is expected to decrease 2.4 percent during the year to an estimated $77.6 billion, hindered by an increase in the price of paper.