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Analysis
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Industry concentrated in Ontario and Quebec
The Canadian book publishing industry is concentrated in Ontario and Quebec. Collectively, firms in these two provinces accounted for 93.6% of industry operating revenues in 2008: Ontario's share was 63.2% and Quebec's 30.4%.
Ontario and Quebec were also home to all of Canada's foreign-controlled book publishers. Although small in number, they represented 42.0% of industry operating revenues in 2008, a slight increase from 41.4% in 2006.
The ten largest book publishers earned 63.7% of the industry’s operating revenues in 2008, up from 61.5% in 2006. These companies primarily publish educational and trade (adult fiction and non fiction) books.
Results in the remainder of this release are based on establishments whose combined revenues accounted for about 98% of the industry's total revenues in 2008 and 95% in 2006, the last year for which detailed industry-specific characteristic information was collected by the survey.
Significant sources of revenue for book publishers
The Canadian book publishing industry earned nearly three-quarters of its overall operating revenue from domestic sales for the publishers' own titles and their exclusive agency titles. Of these sales, 42.7% were for educational books and 35.0% were for trade books. Children's books made up another 14.8%.
Returning to the industry’s overall operating revenues, exports of books and other foreign book sales generated an additional 11.3% in 2008. This was down from 12.2% in 2006, in part due to an appreciation of the Canadian dollar that occurred during this period.
Other sources of operating revenue for book publishers included grants, sales of rights, book wholesaling, and marketing and fulfillment services. These comprised 14.8% of operating revenues in 2008, up from 13.3% in 2006.
Book publishers sell their books directly to a variety of customers. Sales to bookstores and other retail establishments represented 38.1% of the industry’s book sales revenues in 2008. Educational institutions accounted for 23.4% of book sales revenues, while exclusive agents, distributors and wholesalers combined for 17.3%.
Compared to their foreign-controlled counterparts, Canadian-controlled publishers earned a greater share of their book sales in Canada from sales of their own titles, and a smaller share from exclusive agency titles. For foreign-controlled book publishers, own title sales represented 44% of their book sales in Canada in 2008, while the share for Canadian-controlled publishers was 77%.
Note to readers
Data for the Survey of Book Publishers are collected using a sample and typically represent results for firms that account for at least 95% of total revenues earned by the book publishing industry. Administrative data are used to account for the smallest firms.
Statistics Canada’s Annual Survey of Book Publishers alternates between releasing basic financial statistics in odd survey years and more comprehensive data, including sales in Canada for own and agency titles, country of control, language and for customer category, in even years.
Data for 2006 and 2007 were revised.
The survey frame is based on a central Statistics Canada database of businesses that have been classified through the use of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Self publishers, vanity publishers and print-on-demand publishers were not previously considered as book publishers, but have been included in the survey according to NAICS since 2004.
In addition, exclusive agents are included in the survey only if their revenue from book publishing exceeds 10% of their total revenues, while pure exclusive agents are excluded. Comparisons should not be made between results of this survey and the former Survey of Book Publishers and Exclusive Agents (conducted prior to 2005) due to differences in survey methodology.
Book publishers are establishments primarily engaged in carrying out various design, editing and marketing activities necessary for producing and distributing books of all kinds, such as textbooks; technical, scientific and professional books; and mass market paperback books. These books may be published in print, audio or electronic form. Some publishers also act as exclusive agents.
Exclusive agents distribute and sell works (agency titles) published by another firm, by acting as its sole representative.
