GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The quarterly outlook from the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Assn. (BIFMA) predicts a 3.9% downturn in industry wide shipments in North America, to $11.0 billion, for 2008, down from the previous forecast of 6.8% decline, according to mlive.com.

A decline of 10.4% is predicted for 2009, dropping shipments further to $9.8 billion. The BIFMA outlook, prepared by Global Insight, previously expected a 6.3% decline in 2009.

Through the first six months of 2008, office furniture shipments were down 0.3% at $5.47 billion. Read more.