Graphics industry back in recession
The recession is already a reality for Swiss print shops. The graphic arts industry is increasingly losing orders to foreign competitors due to the strong franc.
After a slight upturn at the beginning of the year, gross value added in the graphic arts industry in the third quarter was 9% lower than in the previous year and similar to the crisis year 2009. This means that output fell for the second quarter in a row. This was announced by the industry association Viscom on Tuesday on the basis of data from the BAK Basel research institute.
Exports slumped by around 30 percent, while real imports of graphic arts products (excluding newspapers and magazines) rose by 20 percent, helped by the strong Swiss franc. Over the course of the year, however, key customers such as the advertising industry and retailers began to order less.
In August, when the euro was worth just over one franc, things looked particularly bleak. At least the lower limit for the euro-franc exchange rate of 1.20 set by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) at the beginning of September ensured that the generally ruinous price war did not escalate any further, writes Viscom.
