Trade Slumps in August
| Category | % Change August | % Change YTD |
| (Measured in $ sales against same time periods, 2000) The industry's trade segments had a poor August, with all but the adult hardcover segment posting declines in the month. The largest decline was in the children's categories, where paperback sales fell 45.6% from one year ago and hardcover sales were off 29.0%. Faced with difficult comparisons due to last year's strong sales of Harry Potter titles, children's hardcover sales were down 29.3% for the first eight months of the year, while paperback sales were barely ahead at 0.3%. Adult hardcover sales bounced back after a down July to post a 6.6% gain in the month, but sales were still down 8.7% in the year to date. Trade paperback sales fell 11.2% in August and 1.0% for the first eight months of the year. After stumbling for much of the year, the professional segment had the largest gain in August among industry segments, with sales up 12.4%, but sales for the year to date were down 6.7%. The elhi segment continued to be the strongest performing category for the year, with sales ahead 16.7% in the January-through-August span. | ||
| Adult Hardcover | 6.6 | -8.7 |
| Adult Paperback | -11.2 | -1.0 |
| Juvenile Hardcover | -29.0 | -29.3 |
| Juvenile Paperback | -45.6 | 0.3 |
| Audio Books | -33.4 | -22.2 |
| Univ. Pr. Hardcover | -3.3 | 1.4 |
| Univ. Pr. Paperback | -0.5 | -3.6 |
| Mass Market Paperback | -1.8 | 4.2 |
| Book Club | NA | NA |
| Mail Order | NA | NA |
| Professional | 12.4 | -6.7 |
| College Texts | 6.7 | 8.0 |
| School Texts | 9.5 | 16.7 |
