Australian Printing Industry Reform

The decisions made by Australian printers this year will have greater impact on the future than in previous years, so they have to be careful.
Since the early 1990s, Australia’s economy has been on a good and bad time. Correspondingly, the printing industry has also experienced ups and downs. In recent years, with the continuous emergence of technological innovation in the industry, companies have felt more pressure in deciding the direction of future development and survivability.
doing what? What is the direction of development? What kind of investment? This is an issue highlighted by print companies in Australia today. There may be short-term prosperity in the industry in 2001, but then it will slow down, which will greatly affect the order in the industry.
Economic Situation In 2000, most companies, especially on the east coast of Australia, were affected by a series of major events.
The biggest thing is the implementation of the new tax system (ANTS), including the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on June 1, 2000. The direct impact on the printing industry is that the sales tax on some consumer goods has dropped from 22% to 10%, but many of the previously tax-free prints and services are subject to a 10% GST (can be discounted). Some of the previous costs that had to be paid have also been reduced, but due to the complexity of the ANTS system, this benefit has been compromised.
On the positive side, ANTS has brought benefits to many printers. Each tax-paying company must reprint documents and marketing information so that the government spends a large amount of money on descriptive print media. While many companies have benefited, some departments have been weakened. For example, previously tax-free prints such as books, magazines and newspapers are now subject to a 10% GST.
The 2000 Sydney Olympic Games brought benefits to some major printing companies, but it did little to benefit most companies in the industry. In fact, many business activities were hindered during the Olympic Games, which had a negative impact on some printers, especially those in New South Wales.
The dramatic decline in the Australian dollar against the US dollar further exacerbated the situation by 65.83 in early 2000 and by 51.18 in December (returned to 56.4 in January 2001 and is expected to increase further).
As a result, prices of all consumables, especially paper, have steadily increased. In 12 months, the price of pulp paper increased by 22%, from 580 US dollars per ton to 710 US dollars per ton. The first quarter of 2001, the price will rise to 800 US dollars per ton.
The biggest hit in price increases is for small and medium-sized printing companies, and there are some companies that have agreements with customers. Whether the cost of raw materials is up or down, the transaction price is fixed. These companies account for 99% of the industry and they are struggling under tremendous pressure. Larger companies, especially those that have signed long-term contracts or imported directly from overseas, are doing very well.
PaperlinX, Australia’s largest paper distributor with a turnover of US$1.5 billion, announced its intention to take over the paper maker Spicers Paper, which raised concerns about the supply of paper in late 2000. PaperlinX stated that it wants to acquire Spicers distributors in the United States (12 distribution points), Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Due to the possibility of price monopoly, the Australian Competition and Consumption Commission (ACCC) conducted a survey on the bids, and the new entity may control local paper and imported paper with potential for price monopoly. In early January 2001, the ACCC took over US$500 million to take over the Spicers’ federal paper company. In addition, it also had Edwards Dunlop Paper, Inc., intending to capture Spicers.
Although Drupa brings huge industry profits, Australia's business volume is relatively small, and many promising buyers have to wait until PacPrint in May 2001 to make a decision. PacPrint, held in Melbourne from May 15th to 19th, is the largest printing exhibition in the southern hemisphere.
As the Australian dollar continues to strengthen, PacPrint may have its own dominant position and attract more orders.
Business Outlook The Australian Printing Industry Association Quarterly Trends Survey report shows that the lowest business expectations for the 11 quarters since the last quarter of 2000. As business spending has recently deteriorated sharply, business expectations have also declined.
The results of the 1999-2000 financial year show that investment has increased by 0.2%, but due to inflation of 4%, investment in the printing industry has been negative.
Although sales prices have increased, some of them have been offset by increased costs, and confidence has been hit.
It is difficult to find skilled workers. This is the result of the continuous decline in the number of novices since the early 1990s. It has prompted the industry not to re-examine the status of the industry.
In December 2000, the printing and printing services sector published a trend forecast. In the chart, Econtech, the economic consultant for the printing industry and the federal government analyst, gave some interesting predictions.
It is estimated that the growth rate in 2000-2001 will be 3.7% (9.6% in 1999-2000), and the growth rate in 2001-2002 will be reduced to 8.7%.
Influencing factors include: federal elections in the second half of 2001 and the election of at least four state governments. In addition, Australia’s national celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Federation in 2001 will also have an impact.
These two factors will bring benefits to the printing industry in the major population centers, cities and towns.
It is estimated that employment in 2000-2001 will increase by 5.3% (in 1999-2000, it is 4%), and in 2001-2002, it will increase by only 0.8%.
Publications (newspapers, books and magazines) are expected to increase by 6.1% in 2000-2001 and 11.2% in 2001-2002. Employment is expected to be the same as printing: 6.1% in 2000-2001 and 0.8% in 2001-2001.
Other financial trends are summarized below:
Sales. According to reports, printing industry sales increased by 7.4% from 1999-2000 to US$ 12.128 billion.
profit. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that before the increase in income tax, profits rose and profit levels increased by 15.25% to $1.554 billion.
Capital spending. Compared with the first quarter, the actual capital expenditure of the printing sector in the second quarter decreased from US$198 million to US$169 million. Despite the decline, the financial year 1999-2000 increased slightly by 0.2%.
Total product. Although it fell by 0.55 in the second quarter to US$1.854 billion, it increased by 10.3% during the entire financial year.
Import and export data show that in June 2000, paper and cardboard imports increased by US$568 million, an increase of 19.3% compared to the same period in 1999. In 1999-2000, paper and cardboard imports amounted to US$2.329 billion, an increase of 11.9% over the previous year.
The volume of imports of printed materials during the same period also increased by 12.5% ​​to 252 million U.S. dollars. In 2000, the import volume of printed materials increased to 1.007 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 0.6%.
Nearly $452 million worth of machinery and machine parts were imported into Australia from 1999-2000, a decrease of 14.4% from the previous year.
Recognize and meet the challenges of 2001 and beyond The new millennium The challenges faced by the Australian printing industry are:
(1) Technology and market changes that threaten the stable development of the industry;
(2) The image of the printing industry needs to be changed. The Australian Printing Association and industry partners, as well as the Australian government are taking advance action to help industry partners overcome these issues.
Print21 - Industry Continuing Development Program Print21 The printing industry's action regulation agenda is rooted in an initiative launched by the Australian Printing Association three years ago to allow the industry and the government to work together to develop a plan for the future direction and sustainable development of the printing industry.
In recent years, with the decline of surplus, profits and investment, the printing industry is at a crossroads. The huge production oversupply, the impact of increasing global market competition, and the replacement of a range of traditional printing modes brought by new technologies, such as the transmission of information, especially the emergence of multimedia and the Internet, have a great impact on the printing industry. These issues are also facing other countries.
The industry has established an organizational coordination plan, which consists of the Australian Brush Association and the Graphic Arts Association.
Australia's printing industry at a glance The Australian printing industry includes printing, publishing, paper and paper products.
Printing is the fourth largest manufacturing industry in Australia, employing 120,000 people;
Annual turnover is close to 20 billion U.S. dollars; salaries paid annually exceed 5.6 billion U.S. dollars; total annual production value is more than 9.7 billion U.S. dollars; annual investment in new technologies, new factories, and new equipment exceeds 1.2 billion U.S. dollars; A billion-dollar global industry; 99% of companies are small and medium-sized companies, and about 44% are in Australia.
Associations and organizations such as the Australian Business Association (GAMAA), the National Paper Council, the Australian Ministry of Industry, and the Science and Resources Organisation provided funds and experts for the development of Print21.
A steering committee and three working groups were established to define and outline the industry situation. After a strategic analysis, the situation of the printing industry and possible directions were summarized. as follows:
Decline in industry added value;
Increased local demand for pulp, paper, printing, publishing and packaging;
The profit surplus decreased; the production capacity decreased; due to the decline in the application capacity of the equipment, the corresponding equipment sales situation deteriorated; the competitiveness in the IT industry needs to be improved; the emphasis should be placed on sales-to-market solutions instead of products. , Become a leading provider of overall solutions; Need to develop closer relationships with customers; Companies should master technology changes, not be controlled by them;
The company should improve the competitiveness of its companies and cultivate competitive advantages. In March 2001, Print21 was officially launched. Self-help manuals and a set of eight diagnostic tools are now available to help companies make decisions on the following issues, including: the characteristics and scope of the business, how to express uncertainty, how to determine and meet customer needs The current or future value will be generated from the company.
In addition, "Printing Industry" hired four client managers to help companies involved in book production get more corporate promotion projects.
The need for image updates The number of newcomers declines, and the need to change the public's impression of the printing industry From the process-based industry to the current technology-based industry, reflecting today's technological progress and meeting the challenges of the future.
Since 1990, the maximum number of novices across Australia has reached 1,408, but by 2000 the number of new hires has fallen to only 573, which has created an urgent need for skilled workers. Although the decline is partly due to changes in the industry structure (such as prepress work done by designers), and because of new technology requires fewer employees, lower employee turnover