Selling prices were reported to have fallen for the 40th consecutive quarter, while respondents said finance was harder to obtain for the 12th consecutive quarter.

Downbeat activity was seen across a range of indicators, including higher debtor numbers, and material and wage cost pressures.

Hagop Tchamkertenian, PIAA’s national manager for policy and government affairs, said that “printing business operators are likely to face challenges to their margins brought about by continued pressure on selling prices and weaker trading conditions”. 

But the report found that orders and production increased in the December quarter.

According to PIAA: “Some 76.2% of survey respondents ranked lack of orders as the primary barrier to increasing production levels, an outcome that is lower than the 88% proportion reported during the September 2010 quarter and the 87.3% proportion reported during December quarter 2009.”

Tchamkertenian (pictured) also used the statement to take a shot at “another employer association”, which released a survey last month showing the printing industry had contracted.

“The divergence in the reported outcomes are likely due to differing sample sizes for our industry segment… the Printing Industry Trends Survey continues to have a much larger sample and response rate, hence its ability to deliver more reliable and accurate outcomes for the printing industry,” he said.  

Tchamkertenian told ProPrint that the PIAA’s survey “was circulated to 290 companies and 101 responded as of survey close date, giving us a response rate of 35%”.

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