Amidst the doom and gloom often reflected by pundits who predict the demise of printing on paper in favour of electronic delivery of news, advertising, books and so on, comes the news that the printing industry is alive and well, and quite robust. Economic growth data shows that the printing industry was one of the fastest growing sectors of the Australian economy during the March 2013 quarter.
The growth of the printing industry outstripped national economic growth according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The printing industry expanded by 2.5 per cent in trend terms during the March 2013 quarter the fourth fastest growth rate of the broad industry sectors comprising the Australian economy. In fact, the printing industry grew by a robust 18.3 per cent during the year to March 2013, according to analysis conducted by the Printing Industries Association of Australia (Printing Industries).
This welcome news is all the more significant as it comes at a time when there has been considerable contraction in print capacity in Australia, due to the demise of GEON, and the sale of their presses, almost all of which went overseas in recent auctions. For more on the demise of GEON see this news item, and this blog.
Click here for the full Print 21 article.