BPIF survey shows nearly half of printers cut prices despite rising costs

Almost half of the industry has been forced to cut prices despite rising raw material costs, the newly launched BPIF Printing Outlook survey has found.

The maiden Printing Outlook, which is an online evolution of the quarterly Directions survey, painted a gloomy picture of the UK print market.

Of the 142 companies surveyed, more than half (53%) said the state of the industry had worsened between September and November, and only 2% predicted an expansion over the current quarter.

Overcapacity had continued to challenge the sector, with only 6% of respondents saying they had worked "at or above full normal capacity" for the final quarter of 2008.

However, more than 90% of respondents indicated that they expected to invest in plant and machinery over the coming 12 months, with one in four intending to invest more than last year.

Andrew Brown, corporate affairs director at the BPIF, said the survey suggested the industry was "unlikely to experience any meaningful improvement in its fortunes" until the third quarter of 2009.

"Industry confidence continues to decline and the welcome improvement in selling prices we saw last summer has proved to be short lived, with prices now taking a turn downwards for many."

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