Updated for 2010, this guide covers how to estimate, warranties and quantity discounts, an estimate form, design and engineering fees, service and installation hourly rates, a letter footage chart, and ...
Sign Industry Continues Modest Growth.
By Carol Shea, Wade Swormstedt
The following is an excerpt from the 2005 CAS/Commercial State of the Industry Report. To purchase a copy of the full report from the Signs of the Times August 2006 issue click here
The bottom-line result of this year's CAS/Commercial (non-electric) State of the Industry Report (SOI) curiously reaches a similar conclusion to that of last month's Electric SOI Report, but it does so in completely opposite ways. This CAS study show the least amount of change in average sales volume in eight years, but impressive gains in the critical statistics of profit margin and sales per employee.
In stark contrast, the Electric SOI evidenced disappointing profit margins and sales per employee, but huge gains in the average sales volumes of respondents.
With an estimated 5% sales-volume growth from 2004 to 2005, the CAS/commercial sign industry grew less than its electric counterpart (6.5%), but it did so more efficiently and profitably.
In another contrast, this year's CAS/Commercial SOI has no new questions, whereas the Electric SOI had numerous reformulations.
Keep in mind, when we say "this year," it means fiscal 2005, and "last year" means fiscal 2004.Table 1 shows exactly 400 responses, as occurred last year. Why? Because these results are obtained via telephone interview, even though potential respondents were sent the questions, prior to any calls, so they could assemble data and be prepared for a call. Smyth Marketing keeps calling people until it gets 400 responses.
In yet another contrast, the Electric SOI's results are tabulated based on respondents filling out forms, so its number of responses always fluctuates.
The average reported sales volume, $527,600, is the highest ever (as has been true each of the past eight years), but it's negligibly higher than last year's $524,418, less than a 1% increase. Fourteen more respondents report sales of more than $500,000 this year, but their average sales volume is $280,000 less, so these largest signshops still represent virtually the same percentage of the study's total sales volume (78.2% versus 79% last year).
The median figure of $200,000 (which means half our respondents' sales volumes are above and below this figure) matches the previous high from 2002.
