PUBLICATION PRINTING -- Getting the Numbers To "Ad" Up

"Business-to-business magazines continued to suffer in 2003. We believe that the fourth quarter of 2003 will be down from last year, continuing a trend that goes back to January 2001," the Banta exec continues.

Some Strong Signs

"We do, however, see a little light at the end of the tunnel. With capital spending finally starting to show increases, spending in the B2B marketplace will once again pick up. We don't see that starting to happen until the second quarter of 2004, as ad spending lags capital spending. Overall, we expect just slight growth in pages for 2004 in the business magazine category," Hanson reveals.