The NAPL Printing Business Index (PBI) rose to 51.2 in November, the highest reading and the first above 50.0 in three years. Previously, the index had risen to 44.8 in August and 39.3 in February, after falling to an all-time low 21.2 in March 2009. (The PBI combines several key indicators, including confidence, hours worked, and pricing, into a single measure of printing industry activity. A reading above 50.0 means more of the companies NAPL surveys report activity is picking up; a reading below 50.0 means the opposite.)
Of course our industry is rising from extremely depressed levels. And we are far from where we want to be in terms of growth, pricing power, and profitability. But a rising Printing Business Index is clear evidence that we have finally begun the long, painfully slow recovery from our deepest recession on record. The key question, as addressed in the NAPL State of the Industry Report to be published next month: Who’s going to participate in recovery? Because not everyone will.
