New York, NY, April 28--Shipments, backlogs and incoming orders for office furniture are slowing this quarter, according to the latest industry trends survey released on Wednesday from Michael A. Dunlap & Associates.
Gross shipments of office furniture and supplies used to make office furniture, order backlogs and incoming orders all declined slightly during the quarter, the survey showed.
Demand for U.S. office furniture decreased from 2001 through 2003, but in the past year manufacturers like Herman Miller Inc., Steelcase Inc. and HNI Corp. reported higher sales as companies reinvest in their offices and hire more staff.
Wall Street analysts, however, have been concerned lately that higher energy costs might curb spending on new office furniture.
The closely watched survey of more than 100 executives in the office furniture industry showed raw material costs, particularly steel and petroleum-based products like plastic and polyurethane, remained a major concern for the industry, but manufacturers were slightly less concerned about the problem this quarter than in the last survey in August.
Nearly 80 percent of companies surveyed said low-cost import competition from Asia, high health-care costs for labor, fuel costs and the declining value of the dollar were major industry concerns.
