Latest Report on Monthly Printing Shipments and Quarterly Profits
We Get Questions
Q: What is the difference between “real printing shipments” and “current dollar shipments”? And why is the printing industry measured in shipments?
A: Real printing shipments are adjusted for inflation. Since inflation means that a dollar today buys less than a dollar did yesterday, then comparing things measured in dollars over a long period of time is difficult. Current dollar shipments are just dollars, with no inflation adjustment. Sometimes you might see these referred to as “nominal” dollars. Inflation distorts all kinds of historical analyses where the unit of comparison is monetary. For example, it is claimed that oil is at an all time high. It is, in current dollars, but it is far away from its high on an inflation-adjusted basis. A dollar in 1980 is not the same as one in 2007. Oil would have to reach $90 or so to be at the equivalent level today.
