Sluggish sales slow down industry

Print industry faces an uphill battle after a steep decline in sales and economic activity, according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The ABS data shows that growth in the printing industry contracted for the fourth consecutive quarter, declining by 0.3 per cent during the December 2010 quarter and 2.7 per cent for the December 2009 quarter.

During the year to December only $311 million worth of new investments took place in the printing industry representing a deterioration of 35.9 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier.

According to Hagop Tchamkertenian, (pictured) national manager for policy and government affairs, Printing Industries, economic conditions remain weak. “The printing industry experienced a modest decline in both growth and sales during the December quarter compared to the previous quarter,” he noted.

“But if we compare the latest December quarter with the previous December quarter then the decline in reported economic activity is even steeper.”

Printing industry sales declined by 0.4 per cent during the December quarter compared to the September quarter and by 2.6 per cent when compared to the December quarter a year earlier. During the year to December printing industry sales stood at $8.6 billion, a deterioration of 0.7 per cent compared to the previous period's outcome.

Hagop also predicted that a carbon tax may only continue the sluggish trading conditions. “Our government is now faced with uncertainty,” he said. “The details are yet to be released, which can only create uncertainty amongst printing businesses.”