Commercial Printing Outlook — Tepid Vote of Confidence

PIA/GATF’s Ratio Studies show industry profits are still a case of the haves and have nots, Davis adds. In recent years, margins have been creeping back toward their long-run equilibrium of about 3 percent, he notes. Last year, they came in at 2.7 percent.

Profit leaders, those in the top 25 percent, continue to achieve margins in the 8 to 10 percent range regardless of the business challenges, the printing economist adds.