BIFMA Office Furniture Forecast - More Contraction

Not surprising, BIFMA (Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association), has issued a forecast of $8.9 Billion for total office furniture consumption in 2010 (click HERE for the forecast). This is down 1% from the forecast of $9.0 Billion for 2009, and down a whooping 31% from the $12.9 Billion of 2008.

Click on the Chart above for link to the source document

It should be noted that BIFMA historically has not had the most accurate forecasts, and I would assume we will see several downward revisions before we get to 2010.

This contraction is consistent with what we are seeing in the market place. A general note on the state of the office furniture industry - It appears that all the major factories are well positioned to weather this storm. All of them have taken significant capacity off-line (by closing factories and laying off workers). Pricing is extremely competitive (the most competitive I have seen it in my 18 years in the industry). From all discussions I have had with dealers and manufacturers across the country, I believe we are at the bottom right now and I don't believe we will see pricing go appreciably deeper than the current levels.