Industry Sales Inch Ahead
by Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 3/7/2005
Revised figures from the Association of American Publishers confirmed what preliminary estimates from the AAP suggested earlier last month: there was little growth in the industry in 2004. New estimates from the association show that total book sales hit $23.7 billion last year, a 1.3% increase over 2003. The book segment with the largest gain in the year was adult hardcover, which posted a 6.3% increase, to $2.60 billion. Sales were down in the children's hardcover, book clubs and mass market paperback segments, and flat in the elhi market. The biggest growth area was standardized tests, where sales rose 12.4%, to $923.9 million, as increased mandates for more student accountability drove gains.
| Segment | 2003 | 2004 | % Change |
| Total Trade | $5,063.8 | $5,159.8 | 1.9% |
| Adult Hardcover | 2,451.8 | 2,606.3 | 6.3 |
| Adult Paperback | 1,465.4 | 1,506.4 | 2.8 |
| Children's Hardcover | 698.0 | 581.4 | -16.7 |
| Children's Paperback | 448.6 | 465.6 | 3.8 |
| Book Clubs & Mail Order | 1,294.8 | 1,179.5 | -8.9 |
| Mass Market Paperback | 1,218.0 | 1,109.6 | -8.9 |
| Religion | 1,261.8 | 1,332.5 | 5.6 |
| Professional | 3,978.7 | 4,058.3 | 2.0 |
| Elhi | 4,290.4 | 4,294.6 | 0.1 |
| Higher Education | 3,391.0 | 3,452.0 | 1.8 |
| Standardized Tests | 822.0 | 923.9 | 12.4 |
| Other | 2,100.1 | 2,205.1 | 5.0 |
| Total | 23,420.6 | 23,715.4 | 1.3 |
| Source: Association of American Publishers | |||
