2009 Mid-Year Economic Report for Tag & Label Industry

notes from a report by Jack Kenny
Label & Narrow Width Association staff conducted a survey, converters reported a mixed bag of results. While most commented on sales declines as deep as 30 percent a few boosted increases as high as 50 percent. Profits were down for most, but up for others. Printers vented strongly against price increases by material's suppliers. The majority of them said they were unable to pass along those increases to customers, instead focusing on internal changes to reduce operating costs.
Yet the companies that buy labels still must buy labels, and they have been keeping the industry pumping along. Competition, by all accounts, is more fierce than ever. Clearly, converters directly tied to industries such as the automobile market continue to be hurt the most.