Brexit was a prime concern of respondents to the BPIF Printing Outlook Printing Industry Trends Survey for quarter three 2019. Anna Tobin reports

The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) Printing Outlook Printing Industry Trends Survey for quarter three 2019 found that Brexit was the topic that concerned most of the printing industry, with 61% of respondents stating it is one of their top three business concerns. The chief concern surrounding Brexit is its propensity to disrupt the supply chain of materials, particularly paper, that are sourced from outside of the UK.

The BPIF Printing Outlook survey also found that economic confidence within the sector in the pre-Brexit period became more negative in July. In comparison to April, 15% of respondants are now ‘somewhat confident,’ down from 16%; 22% are ‘neither confident nor unconfident,’ down from 29%; 38% are ‘somewhat unconfident,’ up from 31% in April and 24% are‘very unconfident,’ up from 23% in April.

Respondents voiced concerns about “the effects of Brexit and how the continuing pre-Brexit limbo is impacting their clients and general confidence. There are also concerns about currency weakness, administration burdens and stockpiling complications and costs related to building up stocks, running them down and then building them up again in advance or the next deadline.”