Industry sales turned in a 3.6 percent uptick over the past year, according to the PPAI/ITR Economics third-quarter 2017 Market Outlook Report. Indicators point to continued growth for suppliers and distributors through 2017 and into 2018, but growth should slow as next year progresses.
ITR Economics found the supplier’s member index annual growth rate climbed 2.2 percent during third quarter 2017, year over year, and the economic research and consulting firm expects this growth trend to continue through the first half of 2018. ITR’s forecast, which extends to 2019, expects 4.1 percent and 3.8 percent growth in 2017 and 2018, respectively, but warns that inflationary pressures and higher interest rates may put a damper on corporate spending, pulling suppliers back 1.1 percent in 2019.
Industry distributors should see a similar decline in 2019—negative 0.9 percent—but ITR’s expectations for PPAI distributor members over the next year are in line with earlier projections: six percent and 4.6 percent growth in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The distributor member index for third quarter 2017 is up four percent on a year-over-year basis, and the accelerating pace of growth should continue through the first half of 2018.
The PPAI Market Outlook Report is a quarterly snapshot of the promotional products industry. In order to best provide resources to members, this report was created by ITR Economics to provide information on macroeconomic, industry and competitive landscape trends. The goal of the report is to provide insight into current business cycle trends that affect member companies, allowing members to make better business decisions to increase profitability and mitigate risk.
An executive summary of the PPAI/ITR Economics’ third-quarter 2017 Market Outlook Report is available on PPAI’s website. To access the more detailed and comprehensive full report and help better capture the state of the industry, become a participant in PPAI’s quarterly Market Outlook Survey. Find out how by contacting Mo Das, PPAI market research coordinator, at MoD@ppai.org or 972-258-3058.
