• by Michael Shields , October 14, 2004

Business-to-business ad pages increased 3.7 percent in August versus last year, marking the second straight month of growth, according to a report released Thursday by American Business Media. Ad spending was up 4.6 percent for the month.

For 2004, pages are up just 0.7 percent, and dollars are up just 1.7 percent following several months of declines earlier in the year.

"The August results are reflective of the growth that we expect to see for the remainder of the year," said Gordon Hughes, president and CEO of American Business Media, in a statement. "We appear to be on track for 2 percent to 4 percent revenue growth in 2004."

Growth in ad pages was seen among seven categories in August. "Home & Building" led the way, with a 15.7 percent increase. "Drugs & Toiletries," Travel, "Telecommunications, Manufacturing & Electrical Equipment," "Materials & Components," "Finance, Business & Advertising," and Retail all exhibited solid growth as well.