Print Sales Rose 5.8% in Christmas Week (publishersweekly.com)

With industry sales largely flat, one way publishers have maintained their profit margins in recent years is by operating more efficiently and taking costs out of the supply chain. But publishers’ ability to contain costs could be put to the test this year as the price of paper rises. As one publisher noted, because of an overall decline in demand, paper prices have been good for several years. In early 2018, however, a number of events have led to a decline in the paper supply and an increase in prices. A recent report by printer Quad Graphics noted that the cost of uncoated groundwork paper rose $35 per ton on February 1 and rose another $25 per ton March 1. Costs have risen in part because of a reduction in supply, as a number of Canadian mills have either closed or, in search of better margins, switched from producing paper to manufacturing other products, such as packaging, explained Matt Baehr, executive director of the Book Manufacturers’ Institute; the institute recently held its annual meeting, which focused on paper issues. Click Read More below for additional information.

A bill that would limit states’ ability to enforce sales tax collection laws on online retailers that do not have a physical presence in those states had its first hearing on Capitol Hill today. H.R. 2887, introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and titled the “No Regulation Without Representation Act,” went before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial, and Antitrust Law this morning. The bill would prohibit states from forcing businesses that do not have a physical presence in the state to collect sales tax from in-state shoppers that buy from them. Click Read More below for more of the story.

Ballantine Communications Inc. has signed a deal to acquire The Farmington (New Mexico) Daily Times from Gannett, effective June 1. Terms have not been disclosed. Ballantine plans to merge the Tri-City Record, which it founded last year to cover the Aztec, Bloomfield and Farmington communities., with the Farmington Daily Times, the latter reports. Gannett has sold numerous papers to local owners. Gannett purchased the Daily Times in 2015.