Office Furniture Shipments Up for 3rd Straight Mon
New York, NY, April 5--For the third straight month, office furniture shipments grew by double digits from a year ago, the latest survey from the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) showed Monday.
In February, office furniture shipments rose 20 percent from a year earlier, indicating that companies around the globe are spending heavily on capital investments in their offices.
New orders for office furniture also increased 17 percent from the year ago period to about $740 million, manufacturers told the trade group.
After a sharp decline in office furniture demand from 2000 to 2003, new sales have been helping profits at office furniture companies like Herman Miller Inc., Steelcase Inc., HNI Corp. and Knoll Inc. this year.
Analysts had worried that end-of-the year buying to use up company budgets was clouding investors' views of a demand recovery in the sector, but said that strong shipment and order numbers may be a sign that the sector is entering a period of sustained recovery.
"February's industry shipment data (+20%) was the strongest since late 1998 and represented the 13th consecutive monthly increase," BB&T Capital Markets analysts said in a research note.
