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The office furniture industry performed very well throughout the 1990s as the domestic economy has shifted from being manufacturing driven to one where services play an increasingly important role.

However, the new millennium has been less fortunate for office furniture manufacturers. Between 2000 and 2003, office furniture shipments in the United States fell by more than one-third. This was the largest decrease in shipments for over 20 years. The market has since recovered a bit reaching a value of $11,420 million in 2007.

Office employment growth climbed by 1.2% in 2007. This year may see an even smaller increase of only 1.0%. However, we anticipate a modest acceleration to 1.7% next year and 1.9% in 2010.

Office furniture purchases advanced by 5.5% in 2007. Sales are expected to accelerate to 6.8% this year. This is surprising in light of the dire economic circumstances in the USA and can only be explained by pre-committed orders to fill newly constructed office space that will reach completion this year. The “moment of truth” will come in 2009 and 2010. Growth for office furniture shipments for the next two years will be in the 2.2 to 2.7% range. If our predictions are correct, the market value will reach $ 12.8 billion in 2010. This is still 3.6% lower than the previous peak of $13.3 billion reached in 2000.

Wood office furniture accounted for $3,106 million or 27.2% in 2007. During the past ten years it fluctuated between 21.9% and 27.2%. Given the more expensive nature of wooden furniture it generally gains market share when corporate earnings are strong rather than during periods of fiscal constraint.

“Systems” represents the largest market segment with a share of almost 1/3. Surprisingly, over the period 1997 to 2007 this segment declined by 14.6%. Filing cabinets also fell as technology continues to reduce the demand for paper storage The fastest growing segment was storage furniture, which increased 37.3% over the last 10 years. Seating, desks and tables, also outpaced the overall office furniture industry.

California is by far the largest furniture market in the USA. As of 2007, this state accounted for $1,359 million, followed by Texas, New York, and Florida. These four states account for $3,612 million -- or almost one-third -- of the US market.

1. THE SIZE OF THE MARKET BY PRODUCT
CATEGORY AND REGION 1

2. CLIENT CATEGORIES 8
2.1. CLIENT GROUPS BY INDUSTRY 9
2.2. CLIENT GROUPS BY SIZE 14
2.3. CLIENT GROUPS BY OCCUPATION
OF THE END-USER 21
2.4. CLIENT GROUPS BY SEX AND AGE
OF THE END-USER 23

3. MARKET FORCES 27
3.1. THE PACE OF THE ECONOMY 28
3.2. GROWTH OF THE SERVICE INDUSTRIES 29
3.3. COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY 33
3.4. THE CHANGING OFFICE ENVIRONMENT 36
3.4.1. Office Automation 36
3.4.2. Demand for Ergonomics and Aesthetics 37
3.4.3. Demand for Space Efficient Furniture 40
3.4.4. The Growing Influence of
Interior Designers and Facility Managers 41


4. FORECAST AND ANTICIPATED TRENDS 43
4.1. THE U.S. ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 44
4.2. ANTICIPATED GROWTH
IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRIES 46
4.3. ANTICIPATED COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION 48
4.4. ANTICIPATED OFFICE FURNITURE DEMAND 50
4.5. ANTICIPATED OFFICE FURNITURE DEMAND
BY TYPE 51

BIBLIOGRAPHY 54

INDEX 55







1. Size of the United States market for office furniture and its development between 1997 and 2007, in current and constant 1997 dollars, valued at manufacturers' prices in millions of dollars 2

2. Wooden office furniture as a percentage share of the total US office furniture market from 1997 to 2007 3

3. US shipments of office furniture by type in 1997 and 2007 in millions of dollars 4

4. Size of the United States office furniture market by segment from 1997 to 2007 for seats, filing cabinets, systems, desks, storage, tables and all other items, in millions of dollars 5

5. Estimated size of the United States office furniture market by state and region in 2007 7

6. Employment breakdown by major industry group in the United States in 2007 10

7. Employment breakdown in thousands of persons by major industry group in the United States 1997 to 2007 11

8. Percent of Total Office Furniture Sales Through Various Distribution Channels, 2007 (estimates). 14

9. Establishments by size of employment in the USA in 2007 16

10. Employment by size of establishment in the USA in 2007 16

11. Employed civilians by major occupational group in the United States in 2006, in thousands of persons 22

12. Employment share of females by major occupational group in the United States in 2006 24

13. Change in the male, civilian labor force by age 2006 to 2014 26

14. Change in the female, civilian labor force by age 2006 to 2014 26

15. Constant dollar shipments of office furniture and real GDP from 1997 to 2007, both as an index with 1997 = 100 28

16. Office employment (finance, insurance & real estate, business services, and government) from 1997 to 2007 29

17. Constant dollar shipments of office furniture and `office` employment (finance, insurance & real estate, business services, and government) from 1997 to 2007, both as an index with 1997 = 100 31

18. Constant dollar shipments of office furniture and the change in `office` employment (employment in finance, insurance and real estate, business services and government) from 1997 to 2007 32

19. Constant dollar shipments of office furniture and real investment in commercial structures from 1997 to 2007, both as an index 34

20. Downtown business core office vacancy rates by major urban center at forth quarter 2007 35

21. Summary of the US economic outlook to 2010 45

22. Employment growth in the United States by selected industries, 2006 to 2010 47

23. Employed civilians by major occupational group in the United States in 2006 and 2010, in thousands of persons 48

24. Gross private domestic investment in commercial buildings, 2006 to 2010, percent change 49

25. U.S. Shipments of office furniture 2006 to 2010 50

26. Shipments of office furniture in the United States in millions of dollars by major furniture types. Historical data 2006 and 2007, projected data 2008 to 2010 52