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Don’t expect list companies to avoid the woes confronting their clients.

Many DMers anticipate cutting back their mail volume this year, while fewer expect to increase it, according to Direct’s annual forecast survey. And that trend cuts across both B-to-B and consumer mailers.

Of those polled, 40% plan to increase their outside mailings, compared with 54% last year. And 26% think they will reduce them, up from 7% in 2007.

Firms that market to consumers are more likely to cut their volume-33%, compared with 25% for B-to-B mailers. And that percentage rose by 24% on the consumer side.

Respondents are also cutting their use of their house files, although not nearly in the same quantities they are pulling back on rental volume.

The survey shows that 54% expect to mail more to their own lists. That’s down from 64% last year.

The drop is bigger for B-to-B companies-from 59% to 35%. Of the consumer firms surveyed, 60% anticipate increases, compared with 69% in 2007.

Why are any mailers mulling increases in the middle of an economic downturn?

"I’m not sure mailers had as terrific a holiday season as they would have liked," says Linda Huntoon,. executive vice president of corporate consumer list brokerage at Direct Media Inc. "A lot of catalogers made changes last fall, read their fall holiday results, and some of them are back in the mail validating what they saw. Or they’ve gone back to the drawing board. Spring offers an opportunity to try things out, for mailers to get their ducks in a row [for fall 2008]."

Additionally, "There is a mentality-there’s an opportunity for me [as a mailer] to pick up volume if my competition is out," Huntoon said.

The full survey results will be available in a supplement contained in the June issue of Direct.