Semper International Announces Print Industry May Return to Typical Sales Trends

Semper International, the leading placement firm for skilled help in the graphic arts and printing industry, announced the printing industry may finally be returning to typical sales trends.

The expected second quarter revenue dip was reminiscent of the drop previously experienced before the 2008 recession. Stagnant hiring and an upward trend in layoffs suggest entrenched pessimism in the marketplace.

Since February 2003, Semper International has provided a quarterly survey offering estimates of trends in the printing and graphics industries. To prevent bias, survey questions - both qualitative and quantitative - are designed by Semper corporate partner Cvent. Survey participants include more than 300 small, medium and large printing companies; both clients and prospects of Semper International. Participants provide data on revenue and hiring as well as estimated outlooks on future trends. Data is requested from a random sample and are not screened. To preserve confidentiality, individual company information is not part of the tabulation.

"Responses show concern for the rest of the third quarter. We expected to see the sales start to increase for this time period. Several respondents cited the debt ceiling debate as a threat to sales." noted Dave Regan, CEO Semper International. "While outlooks remain negative, the slow down in revenue and profits appears to be comparable to the second quarter lag we typically saw before the recession."