US business to business (B2B) publishing advertising revenues remained flat year on year during 2003, whilst advertising page volumes were still in decline, according to the latest data from American Business Media (ABM).
The figures showing advertising revenues closing the year at $7.3 billion, up 0.7% on 2002, whilst ad pages were down by 3.2%. However, the final quarter of the year was positive, as revenues rose 3.6% and pages were up 1.2%.
“The first quarter of 2003 posted a solid 4.2% growth in ad revenues, but the next three quarters were weaker than we expected,” said Gordon Hughes, president of ABM.
ABM is forecasting 2% to 4% revenue growth for 2004, with most of the growth taking place in the second half of the year.
| US Business To Business Adspend By Sector, December 2003 |
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Dec-03 |
Full Year 2003 |
| |
Revenue ($000) |
Year On Year Change |
Revenue ($000) |
Year On Year Change |
| Finance, Business & Advertising |
121,769 |
20.5% |
1,297,088 |
20.0% |
| Telecommunications |
15,209 |
1.8% |
173,083 |
-1.7% |
| Computers |
38,995 |
-35.1% |
449,619 |
-16.9% |
| Software |
50,183 |
-13.4% |
632,646 |
-9.0% |
| Manufacturing & Elec. Equip.,Mat’s & Components |
36,894 |
-16.4% |
557,706 |
-7.3% |
| Drugs & Toiletries/PERQ |
66,926 |
15.1% |
864,025 |
3.9% |
| Horticulture & Farming |
12,911 |
9.7% |
156,892 |
2.3% |
| Services, Direct Response, Classified |
114,908 |
14.3% |
1,412,647 |
11.4% |
| Retail |
53,307 |
25.3% |
573,680 |
10.3% |
| Home & Building |
42,405 |
9.3% |
529,681 |
3.6% |
| Automotive |
24,077 |
-2.6% |
282,486 |
13.1% |
| Travel |
25,082 |
-7.7% |
347,749 |
-5.1% |
| Total |
602,666 |
3.6% |
7,277,300 |
0.7% |
| Source: American Business Media, March 2004 |
