PRINT, PUBLISHING & MEDIA Commercial Printer RRD Receives $11 per Share Cash Offer from Unnamed 'Strategic Buyer' (PRINTING IMPRESSIONS) – The chess match to acquire RRD continues, but this time around in competing bids between Chatham Asset Management and an unnamed strategic party. As part of its proposal, the strategic buyer also indicated it would pay the $12 million expense reimbursement fee RRD would owe Chatham for terminating their pending acquisition agreement, as well as reimburse Chatham the $20 million termination fee it paid Atlas Holdings on RRD's behalf to terminate their original agreement. Read More –> Why Can't I Get My Paper? (PRINTING NEWS) – Buying paper has become a convoluted process, putting stress on inventory management, procurement and vendor-client relationships. The paper industry is experiencing a confluence of factors, a perfect storm of negative impacts. Globally, paper mills have been closing for years, reducing sources for many standard printing and publishing grades. Some mills have also converted from commercial printing grades to packaging grades, further reducing overall paper supply. Read More –> Last Year’s Global Ad Spend Said to Have Outperformed Pre-Pandemic Total by Almost 20% (MARKETING CHARTS) – Although 2020 was admittedly a discouraging year for global advertising, last year proved to be a better year in the world of advertising. Year-end estimates from eMarketer indicate that global media ad spend grew by a record-breaking 19.9% over 2020, with digital ad spend doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Read More –> Confronting Labor Challenges Impacting Commercial Printers (PRINTING IMPRESSIONS) – You’ve probably seen the headlines by now: “The Great Resignation” is impacting companies in every sector, from restaurants and retail, to delivery drivers, to office workers, and more. Commercial printers aren’t exempt from this pandemic-era phenomenon, with challenges across the board in hiring — and keeping — qualified staff. Read More –> POSTAL & MAIL CPI 2022 Postal Rate UPDATE (POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION) The next postal rate increase based on the CPI expected to be implemented for all market dominant classes of mail will be on July 20, 2022. The filing for the postal rate increase will be occurring in April 2022, based on the 20 month CPI report. The USPS expects that, in each subsequent year, it will implement price changes in January and July of such year, with the filings occurring the preceding Oct & April. With the current CPI at 7.4 to 8.4%, the next postal rate increase for July will most likely be in the range of 7 to 8%. USPS Accepted More Than 13.2 Billion Mailpieces and Packages this Holiday Season with an Average Delivery Time of Less Than 3 Days (USPS) – The United States Postal Service reported preliminary performance metrics for the 2021 holiday season showing the organization saw volume increase when compared to the same time last year. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, it took on average 2.7 days to deliver a mailpiece or package across the Postal Service network. During the same timeframe, the network accepted more than 13.2 billion letters, cards, flats and packages for delivery, exceeding 12.7 billion accepted for delivery during the same timeframe in 2020. Read More –> Direct Mail Printing Outlook for 2022: Still Remains as a Shining Star (PRINTING IMPRESSIONS) – As we close in on two full years of the pandemic, lockdowns, Zoom meetings, and lives lived through screens, experts are finding that digital fatigue has firmly set in. Everyone is looking to make connections that don’t involve the light of a computer, phone, or tablet. Direct mail — a brand’s old and trusted friend — is one of the answers. Read More –> FREIGHT & DISTRIBUTION Investors Are Piling Into Supply-Chain Technology (WALL STREET JOURNAL) – An investment rush into logistics technology is creating a herd of unicorns in the race to digitize operations at the center of the world’s supply-chain gridlock. The influx of cash is giving startups in a once-overlooked sector expanded access to capital to build out their businesses. Read More –> How Carriers Can Keep Their Fleets Running into 2022 (FREIGHT WAVES) – Keeping trucks loaded may become more difficult as demand falls. The market is expected to loosen up somewhat as demand falls in late January, but changes will likely be slow & steady. More significant loosening is expected by mid-2022 as carriers begin to take delivery of delayed equipment, alleviating some tension on the supply side. Read More –>