14 November 2019

Lacklustre Q3 as output skips the seasonal boost

LACKLUSTRE Q3 AS OUTPUT SKIPS THE SEASONAL BOOST - FLAT EXPECTATIONS FOR Q4 MAY BE BOOSTED BY ELECTION FEVER, DESPITE UNDERLYING CONFIDENCE ISSUES

The third quarter of 2019 was a disappointing one for the UK printing industry - both output and orders failed to live up to expectations and there was no repeat of the seasonal boost experienced last year. Orders and output are now expected to remain subdued in Q4, so an election surge will be well received.

The latest Printing Outlook survey reveals that 37% of printers increased output levels in the third quarter of 2019. The remaining respondents were split fairly evenly; 31% held output steady and 32% experienced a decline in output. The resulting balance (the difference between the ups and the downs) was +5, a recovery from -2 in Q2 but some way short of the Q3 expectation (+19).

This is the worst Q3 report for three years, since the aftermath of the shock EU referendum result, and particularly disappointing in comparison to the positive Q3 and Q4 performance levels last year.