The mounting use of computers and related technology in the 1980s fueled a boom in sales of office furniture to meet the needs of a changing work landscape, including new types of workstations, printer tables, movable walls and partitions. Following the dotcom bust, office furniture makers struggled to adapt by introducing new products and distribution channels, experimenting with M&A strategies, and looking into sustainability measures and overseas markets for new buyers, raw materials and plant locations. These efforts paid off, and since 2003 the U.S. office furniture market has experienced a period of growth and relative stability, registering a compound annual growth rate of 7% through 2007, according to SBI’s Office Furniture Market in the U.S.. Beyond the domestic market, U.S. manufacturers have seen their exports of office furniture grow at twice the rate of imports during that period.

Despite the strength of the market in recent years, uncertainty regarding the economy, new office construction, and office absorption and vacancy rates present challenges for the market in the near future. SBI looks at the impact of these factors, along with trends in producer price indexes for raw materials used by office furniture manufacturers and changes in the workplace driven by technological innovation and employment growth in the service sector. Special attention is given to potential growth areas, including the healthcare and education environments and the home office. In addition, the report profiles major manufacturers, with insight into each company’s products, revenue performance, competitive advantages, strategies for growth, manufacturing operations, and marketing and distribution channels.

Office Furniture Market in the U.S. provides a comprehensive analysis of the U.S. office furniture market, including domestic production by category (wood vs. non-wood) and segment (seating; desks & desk extensions; files, storage units & tables; and other furniture such as office systems), the market’s position in the broader context of the overall furniture industry and the size of the U.S. market in terms of shipments, imports and exports (i.e., apparent consumption). Report data were obtained from government sources, including the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau, International Trade Commission and Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor, trade associations such as the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association (BIFMA) and the Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (OFDA), industry analysts, furniture manufacturers’ websites and business and trade journals. SBI analyzed these data to provide the reader with an accurate picture of the historical (2003-2007) and projected growth (2008-2012) of the U.S. market for office furniture.

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