2002 CAS/Commercial State of the Industry Report

In our search for a silver lining, we can say that the non-electric portion of the on-premise sign industry reached unprecedented heights in 2002, which is better than what we could say for the electric portion of the industry (see ST, July 2003, p. 84 ). The results for 2002 very much simulate those of 2001, so we see another lowly 3% aggregate increase from $4.7 billion to $4.8 billion, as the non-electric and electric portions of the indsutry move closer together. A mixed bag of positively unprecedented sales per employee is negated by unprecedented lows for profit margin, which epitomizes another lackluster year, with little indication that anything is improving in 2003. But, at least things didn’t appear to get much worse. To view a full 2002 CAS/Commercial State of the Industry Report (12 pages), purchase a back issue of Signs of the Times, August 2003 magazine here. Preview:

 

Table 1 Distribution of CAS/Commercial Respondents by Sales-Volume Classification
Sales Volume	# of Shops	Percentage of Total Shops	Total Sales	Percentage of Sales	Average Sales per Respondent
$500,000 or more	90	22.3%	$146,103,000	74.5%	$1,623,367
$250,000-499,999	87	21.5%	$27,371,000	14.0%	$314,610
$100,000-249,999	107	26.5%	$16,761,000	8.5%	$156,645
$50,000-99,999	71	17.6%	$4,758,000	2.4%	$67,014
Less than $50,000	49	12.1%	$1,180,000	0.6%	$24,076
Total	404	100.0%	$196,173,000	100.0%	$485,576

Table 1 shows unprecedented average sales ($485,576) for all respondents and, with our response rate always proximate to preceding years, the aggregate $196 million in sales represents the most purchasing power this study has ever represented. However, this wasn’t skewed by a few large shops, because the percentage of companies with sales exceeding $500,000 actually dropped a percentage point.

 

Table 12 Types of Signs Incorporating Digital Imaging
Type of Sign	2000	2001	2002	Change 2000-02
Banners	78.6%	80.2%	84.9%	6.3 pts
Vehicle graphics	77.8%	82.5%	84.9%	7.1 pts.
Rigid plastic	65.0%	65.1%	70.2%	5.2 pts.
Metal	65.0%	64.6%	68.2%	3.2 pts.
Wood or synthetic wood	49.0%	40.6%	42.9%	-6.1 pts.
Magnetic	56.0%	55.2%	54.7%	-1.3 pts.
Window lettering	29.6%	30.2%	33.5%	3.9 pts.
Display	38.9%	42.0%	37.1%	-1.8 pts.
Electric signs	23.0% (n=257)	25.9% (n=212)	22.4% (n=245)	-0.6 pts.

Increasing use of digital imaging doesn’t encompass all types of signs. Over the past two years, increasing use of digital imaging has been limited to five of the nine signage categories (Table 12). More and more companies are using digital imaging to decorate vehicle graphics, banners and rigid-plastic signs — the three most prevalent product categories — but more shops have shied away in four other categories.