Fortune 500 Issue Has Fewer Pages Than in Past 3 Years

This is the time of year when Fortune publishes its door-stop-sized issue listing America's 500 largest corporations. Since 1998, I've tracked the number of pages per issue, which is suggestive of the economic situation because of the number of ads and, therefore, the size of the issue. 

The 2016 issue, alas, is not as fat as 2015, 2014, or 2013, going by the numbered pages. It's only 10 pages bigger than the 2008 issue, which came out in the year of the financial crisis. But then again, this is an election year, which may affect advertising decisions and budgets. 

Another major factor is the increase in digital advertising, which is partly responsible for the plateau (at best) or decline in print advertising overall.
 
2016: 346
2015: 392
2014: 390
2013: 352
2012: 312
2011: 316
2010: 308
2009: 276
2008: 356
2007: 386
2006: 384
2005: 410
2004: 478
2003: 410
2002: 402
2001: 474
2000: 630 - Peak of dot-com boom!
1999: 510
1998: 506