The National Accounts data for the three months to 31 March indicate that printing sales figures were up 0.5% on the previous quarter and up 0.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Printing industry sales over the 12 months to 31 March reached $8.3bn, well short of the $10.4bn recorded in the corresponding period two years earlier.

Capital expenditure in the industry was down 9.2% compared to the previous quarter, but up 24% on the March 2009 quarter.

The figures show that the printing industry is still lagging behind the moderate economic recovery across the Australian economy as a whole. The wider economy was up 0.6% on the previous quarter, but growth was flat for print.

The printing industry grew 2.3% year-on-year, against the March 2009 quarter.

Meanwhile, the Australian Industry Group has released figures showing that the manufacturing sector continued to grow over May, though the growth is slowing.

The Group’s Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) dropped 3.5 points to 56.3. A reading over 50 indicates expansion in activity.

PricewaterhouseCoopers global head of industrial manufacturing Graeme Billings said: “The continuing recovery in manufacturing is consistent with developments in the broader economy. Employment growth has continued to be strong and this should underwrite a continuation of the positive trend.

“There are, however, clearly some factors that are inhibiting consumer demand in particular and this is showing up in the weakness among a number of manufacturing sub-sectors,” added Billings.

“Higher interest rates are playing their part in this and consumers seem to be holding back on their spending. The picture that emerges in the next couple of months will tell us a lot about the shape of the ongoing recovery.”

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