The printing industry is entering a period of moderate capital expenditure according to the June quarter data for private new capital expenditure and expected expenditure released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

New capital expenditure fell by 6.4 per cent during the June 2006 quarter compared to the previous quarter. This represents the second consecutive quarter of reported falls in new investment in the printing industry.

The ABS data supports developments reported by the Printing Industry Trends Report for the June 2006 quarter which showed an expected deterioration in capital expenditure sentiments for the remainder of the 2006 calendar year.

Printing Industries National Policy and Research Manager, Hagop Tchamkertenian, attributed the latest capital expenditure trends to fundamental economic principles.

"During the last two years the printing industry embarked on an extensive capital expenditure program which saw double digit increases in new expenditure from one quarter to the next," he said.

"Naturally such a sustained and robust expenditure phase had to come to an end."

Mr Tchamkertenian said that the latest Printing Industry Trends Report shows that idle capacity remains a critical industry issue, especially in New South Wales, due to difficult trading conditions.

"So within this context it is not a surprise to see the industry's capital expenditure plans start to moderate.

"But while new capital expenditure in the printing industry fell during the June quarter, at the Australian economy or macro level total new capital expenditure was reported to have increased by 2.6 per cent. The mining sector once again proved to be the main driver and compared to June quarter 2005, the increase was in the order of 21.3 per cent."

Investment in buildings and structures increased by 3.9 per cent during the quarter and by 34.6 per cent during the year to June 2006, while investment in equipment, plant and machinery was reported to have increased by 1.1 per cent for the quarter and by 13.1 per cent for the year to June.

"Capital expenditure expectations suggests that there is about $599 million in the pipeline for the printing industry during the next 12 months,"Mr Tchamkertenian said.