Postal Reform Effects Minimized for Graphic Arts

In general, demand for periodicals is influenced by income and the rate of employ-ment, the price consumers pay for periodicals, and the availability of substitutes on the Internet. General magazine readership has been on the decline for a number of years. (For a more in-depth discussion of periodicals and magazine printing volume, see PRIMIR’s February 2007 report, “Magazine Printing & Publishing, 2006–2011.”) Thus, mail-bound periodicals have declined steadily at a rate of 2.6% from about 2000 to 2005. According to the USPS, the proposed rates alone could reduce periodi-cals mail by about 3.5% in 2007.