Galligan offers some additional insight into the paper problem: “The paper market is extended because paper mills are being converted to packaging mills, so paper lead times are much more extended than they were before and capacity is an issue. Businesses in the book manufacturing space are looking at soaring prices and long lead times, forcing them to absorb costs, pass them onto customers, or find ways to boost productivity and efficiency. There are seemingly a number of contributing factors, chief among them being the impact of the pandemic on supply chains, as well as extreme weather events affecting the production of raw materials, and fluctuating patterns of demand since early 2020. Perhaps the most significant issue is the inability to obtain sufficient quantities of paper. Unfortunately, I think it’s going to continue for a little while longer.” As things normalize little by little as we continue through next year, I hope that some of the shortages on labor and raw materials will level out. 3, consider that dates will need to be extended.” Paper and Labor Shortages Take a TollĪdi Chinai, president of King Printing in Lowell, Massachusetts, agrees that we are yet to see a resolution on the horizon, and paints a picture of a vicious cycle compounding the issue: “We’re seeing a lot of people worried about the shortages increasing their buying pattern, which is only exacerbating some of these constraints. “To manage this supply chain crisis, we’re advising our clients of three key things,” Galligan says. There is no getting away from it, these challenges will remain top of mind going into 2022 and the headache itʼs causing for the book manufacturing segment looks likely to endure for the foreseeable future. In Printing Impressions’ Book Manufacturing Outlook for 2021, demand outstripping supply was already emerging as a leading concern, and as the Book Manufacturers Institute (BMI) published its "State of the Book Industry 2021," Executive Director Matt Baehr commented: “As we move forward, economic and labor trends, along with supply chain issues, will affect our industry greatly.” Galligan is referring to the marked difference between the outlook at the beginning of this year to the outlook now, with regard to the ongoing supply chain challenges. When defining the outlook for book manufacturing in the year ahead, John Galligan, president of Bradford & Bigelow in Newburyport, Massachusetts, uses an apt analogy considering the topic at hand: “It’s a tale of two cities,” he says. Today on Printing Impressions newsletter. ![]() Top 100 Print Buyers Forecasted for 2024.
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