Census Survey Finds Decline in Nonprint Sales in 2000
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 10/7/2002
After enjoying rapid growth in 1999, publishers' revenues generated from the sale of electronic materials fell in 2000, according to the 2000 Service Annual Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey found that sales of printed products rose 5.7% in 2000, to just under $21 billion, while revenues of multimedia and online materials fell 5.3%, to $2.3 billion. Despite the decline, sales of electronic materials in 2000 were still up 6.3% over sales in 1998. Sales of print materials increased 12.6% in the two-year period. The survey also found that sales of audio books fell in 2000, dropping 11.4%, to $176 million.
| ($ in Millions) | Percent Change | |||
| 2000 | 1999 | 2000/1999 | ||
| Revenue Total | $25,236 | $24,129 | 4.6% | |
| Sources of revenue | ||||
| Revenue from the sale of printed material | 20,975 | 19,840 | 5.7 | |
| Revenue from the sale of electronic or nonprinted material (except audio), total | 2,305 | 2,434 | -5.3 | |
| Multimedia | 805 | 811 | -0.7 | |
| Online | 1,500 | 1,623 | -7.6 | |
| Revenue from the sale of audio books | 176 | 198 | -11.4 | |
| Revenue from the sale of publication rights | 289 | 247 | 17.0 | |
| Contract printing | 264 | 361 | -26.8 | |
| Other revenues | 1,227 | 1,048 | 17.0 | |
| Expenses | ||||
| Purchased printing | 4,229 | 4,104 | 3.0 | |
| Inventories at end of year | ||||
| Total | 3,463 | 2,984 | 16.1 | |
| Finished goods and work-in-process | 3,200 | 2,723 | 17.5 | |
| Materials, supplies, fuel, etc. | 263 | 261 | 1.1 | |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau | ||||
