For most industry companies, the next two years will be better than 2016, but watch out for 2019 says the PPAI/ITR Economics’ fourth quarter 2016 Market Outlook Report for the promotional products industry.

The economic research and consulting firm’s supplier member index ended 2016 up 0.7 percent from the 2015 level, suggesting that typically PPAI supplier members saw sales up 0.7 percent over the course of the year. ITR’s forecast, which extends to 2019, expects 4.1-percent and 3.8-percent growth in 2017 and 2018, respectively, but warns of a mild recession in the U.S. macroeconomy that could pull suppliers back 1.1 percent in 2019.

A similar decline is expected for distributors in 2019, negative 0.9 percent, but ITR projects PPAI distributor members to turn in six-percent and 4.6-percent growth in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Its distributor member index for 2016 found that the typical distributor member experienced 2.2-percent growth in sales over the 2015 level.

The PPAI Market Outlook Report is a quarterly snapshot of the promotional products industry. In order to best provide resources to members, this report was created by ITR Economics to provide information on macroeconomic, industry and competitive landscape trends. The goal of the report is to provide insight into current business cycle trends that affect member companies, allowing members to make better business decisions to increase profitability and mitigate risk.

To access the full report and help better capture the state of the industry, become a participant in PPAI’s quarterly Market Outlook Survey. Find out how by contacting Mo Das, PPAI market research coordinator, at MoD@ppai.org or 972-258-3058.