News Deserts Are Growing, Publishing Executives Say (mediapost.com)

The Association of American Publishers released its StatShot report for September 2021 reflecting reported revenue for all tracked categories, including Trade (Consumer Books), K-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. Total revenues across all categories for September 2021 were up 2.0% as compared to September 2020, coming in at $1.7 billion. Year to date revenues were up 12.4%, at $11.6 billion for the first nine months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) sales were up 0.3% in September, coming in at $938.5 million.

Third quarter results were negatively affected by continued demand weakness, particularly at FedEx Express. In addition, operating income was negatively affected by the effects of global inflation, partially offset by U.S. domestic yield improvement and cost-reduction actions. FedEx Ground operating results improved, primarily due to an 11% increase in revenue per package and cost-reduction actions. These factors were partially offset by lower package volume, higher infrastructure costs and increased other operating expenses. FedEx Freight operating results improved, driven by an 11% increase in revenue per shipment and a gain on the sale of a facility, partially offset by decreased shipments.

The United States Postal Service reported new delivery performance metrics for the ninth week of the fiscal fourth quarter showing the average time for the Postal Service to deliver a mailpiece or package across the postal network was consistent at just 2.4 days. As the Postal Service heads into the busy fall mailing season, service performance remains strong and steady across all mail categories. FY2022 fourth quarter service performance scores covering July 1 through Sept. 2 included: *First-Class Mail: 93.2 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal third quarter. *Marketing Mail: 94.6 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal third quarter. *Periodicals: 87.0 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal third quarter.