Book Manufacturers’ Institute Releases Industry Barometer Survey Results for July

The Book Manufacturers’ Institute (BMI) released the July results for its monthly survey on capacity and lead times for soft cover and hard cover books. As demand has skyrocketed and supply chain woes continue to hamper all segments of manufacturing, BMI put together the survey to get a better idea of what manufacturers were facing and what publishers should expect.

July started to show a little easing in the space. According to responses regarding hard cover books, the average manufacturer was running at 84% of their capacity, down from June’s 90%. The average lead time for completed hard cover books dropped a whole month, going from 104 days to 74 days. For soft cover books, capacity usage stayed at 91% and the average lead time dropped from 84 days to 56 days, based on 16 responses.