Newspaper Printing in Germany - Market Research Report (2014-2029)

Newspapers and other printed publications that appear at least four times a week are printed in this sector. In contrast to other printing sectors, where digital printing is on the rise, newspaper printing still mainly uses the indirect flat printing process of offset printing. The demand for printed newspapers has been declining steadily for several years due to the advancing digitalisation and the resulting change in consumer and publisher behaviour. This trend was further intensified in 2020 by the measures taken to contain the coronavirus pandemic and has contributed to a sharp decline in sales. With more people working from home and fewer commuters travelling as a result, significantly fewer printed newspapers were sold. In the current year, industry sales are expected to fall by 1.7% to 954.7 million euros. In the period from 2018 to 2023, revenue in newspaper printing fell by an average of 6.5% per year.The only clients of the companies in this sector are the newspaper publishers. In recent years, they have felt the effects of increasing digitalisation in the form of falling sales figures and have reacted by printing smaller print runs. As a result of digitalisation, consumers are increasingly using the Internet as a source of information. The change in consumer behaviour has put publishers under pressure and they are increasingly shifting their offerings from printed to digital newspaper editions and additional online content. As a result, the volume of print orders continues to decline, which is having a negative impact on print shops' sales. At the same time, rising paper prices have put pressure on the profit margins of industry players in recent years. As paper, together with ink, is the most important input factor in newspaper printing, the industry's material costs often rise in line with the producer price for paper. Due to the declining demand for print products, there has also been an acute shortage of waste paper since last year, which is having a particularly severe impact on the industry as newsprint is primarily made from waste paper fibres.For the period from 2023 to 2028, IBISWorld anticipates an average decline in revenue of 5.5% per year to EUR 719.2 million in 2028. This development is due to the expected further decline in demand for print media in the future and the resulting decline in order volumes for newspaper printers. This declining order volume is likely to lead to further overcapacity and thus be the reason for the falling number of industry players over the next five years.