US business to business (B2B) print advertising spend was down by just 0.5% year on year in September, according to the latest figures from American Business Media (ABM). This is one of the smallest rates of decline in around three years and will give rise to hopes for a stronger fourth quarter.
Across the whole of Q3, revenues were down by 3.2% and advertising page volumes fell by 5.2%. In the year to date, spending is flat and pages are down by 3.8%.
“We are expecting some growth in fourth-quarter spending. It won’t be a hockey-stick escalation, but it should be enough to help us end the year up about 1% to 2%,” said ABM’s president Gordon Hughes.
| US Business To Business Adspend By Sector, September 2003 |
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Sep-03 |
Year To September |
| |
Revenue ($000) |
Year On Year Change |
Revenue ($000) |
Year On Year Change |
| Finance, Business & Advertising |
180,214 |
1.4% |
1,186,590 |
-4.1% |
| Telecommunications |
23,598 |
-24.0% |
140,385 |
-26.4% |
| Computers |
55,325 |
-15.4% |
385,200 |
-13.3% |
| Software |
64,438 |
-11.9% |
526,523 |
-10.6% |
| Manufacturing & Elec. Equip.,Mat’s & Components |
61,363 |
-11.0% |
453,108 |
-6.8% |
| Drugs & Toiletries/PERQ |
88,622 |
-1.6% |
786,621 |
6.0% |
| Horticulture & Farming |
15,553 |
7.0% |
115,366 |
0.9% |
| Services, Direct Response, Classified |
171,661 |
11.1% |
1,220,963 |
9.5% |
| Retail |
65,058 |
1.8% |
496,433 |
11.6% |
| Home & Building |
53,772 |
-4.3% |
427,415 |
2.0% |
| Automotive |
46,546 |
26.2% |
355,131 |
27.8% |
| Travel |
44,287 |
4.5% |
284,057 |
-11.1% |
| Total |
870,435 |
-0.5% |
6,377,792 |
0.0% |
| Source: American Business Media, November 2003 |
