February Office Furniture Orders Rebound

Grand Rapids, MI, April 4, 2007--Monthly office furniture orders rose 14 percent in February, bouncing back after falling in January for the first time since 2004, an industry trade group said on Tuesday.

The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association said that February orders came to $930 million, following $740 million in January. Shipments rose 4 percent in the month and the industry's backlog of unfilled orders stood at $1.28 billion, a spokesman for the group said.

The report is based on a survey of about 40 office furniture makers with combined shipments that represent about 72 percent of industry volume.

The U.S. office furniture market has recently shown signs of cooling after a boom period in 2004 and 2005 that was marked by double-digit percentage increases in orders. In January, new orders were down 1 percent.

"We suspect the gains in February are transient, more characteristic of a short-term rebound rather than a meaningful change in trend," wrote Raymond James equity analyst Budd Bugatch, in a note to clients.