It’s estimated that the office-furniture industry has shrunk by about 25% over the past decade. There are three major factors behind this trend:
• The Great Recession caused the labor market to contract substantially
• The average employee’s work station is physically shrinking in size
• The physical place where employees work is changing
But there are signs that the storm clouds are clearing. According to The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association (BIFMA), U.S. market consumption (import and export) in the office-furniture manufacturing industry totaled $9,375 billion in 2011.
With just a slight additional market shrinkage forecast for 2012, and then growth in 2013, manufacturing looks to be on the up for office furniture.
U.S. Office Furniture Market Forecast |
Year | Production | %Change | Consumption | %Change |
2012 | $9.2 billion | - 2 % | $11.2 billion | + 0.3 % |
2013 | $9.8 billion | + 6.8 % | $11.9 billion | + 6.6 % |
Coupled with the forecasted growth, there is a major shift in the type of office furniture that will be required. This is because more and more people are spending more of their work week working from a home office.
According to a 2009 WorldatWork Telework Trendlines study, 33% of employees said they could do 60% or more of their job from a location outside the office. As this growth continues, the need for more home influenced and style compatible office furniture will increase. We are already seeing and will continue to see growth in wood office furniture at the expense of plastic.
Newport Furniture are a leading manufacturer and supplier of
wood-furniture components. Using the latest technology, the company is able to custom build home furniture and office furniture components and complete pieces.
To discuss your wood-furniture requirements, contact Newport Furniture Parts today.
