Book Publishers NAICS 513130

Mar 13, 2025 - Industry Prepares For Tariffs

• The publishing and printing industries are looking for ways to adapt to tariffs levied or under consideration by the Trump administration, according to Publishers Weekly (PW). American publishers are likely to face higher costs while printers in the US hope that the tariffs will lead to more business. American printers and publishers disagree on whether American book manufacturers have enough capacity to take over the production of books that are currently printed in China, according to PW. There are still no real competitors to Chinese printers for books like Bibles, according to publishing executives. There is also a limited, albeit growing, capacity in the US to produce the deluxe hardcover editions that have become so popular, especially amid the romantasy boom. One publisher contacted by PW estimated that, unless there are changes to the tariffs in the coming weeks, he may need to add $1 to each hardcover. “I can’t afford to eat the cost,” he said.
• A US appeals court sided with four major book publishers in their argument that the nonprofit Internet Archive's "large scale" copying and distribution of entire books online for free did not amount to "fair use." Publishers Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House accused the nonprofit of infringing copyrights in 127 books from authors like Malcolm Gladwell, C.S. Lewis, Toni Morrison, J.D. Salinger, and Elie Wiesel by making the books freely available through its Free Digital Library. The archive, which hosts more than 3.2 million copies of copyrighted books on its website, contended that the library was transformative because it made lending more convenient and served the public interest by promoting "access to knowledge." Circuit Judge Beth Robinson said in the decision that the archive merely supplanted the original books rather than transform them into "something new."

• The comic book and periodical industry is experiencing consolidation of small companies and acquisition of large companies by even larger, multi-genre publishers, according to information sector news site Clownfish TV. Boom! Studios recently sold itself to Penguin Random House, for example, and Dark Horse sold to Embracer Group in 2021. Many small comic book firms struggle financially, leading to mergers and to creators seeking movie and animation deals for financial success, according to Clownfish TV. Some larger comic book companies were started with the intention of selling them to major publishing firms. The comic book industry is facing distribution changes and low sales, but there is still high demand for certain products, according to Clownfish TV.
• Book publishing industry employment decreased slightly while wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first month of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Personal consumption expenditures, an indicator of book sales, increased moderately during 2024, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.