USA (JSACS).- The office furniture industry should see modest growth for the rest of 2010, resulting in flat sales for the entire year, followed by solid growth in 2011,

according to an updated outlook. Overall, the industry still faces a slow recovery from a severe 2009 downturn that pushed shipments down nearly 30 percent to their lowest level since 1992.The updated outlook from the Grand Rapids-based BIFMA -Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association- in an upgrade from three months earlier, predicts a 0.5 percent decline in North American shipments for all of 2010, to $7.8 billion. BIFMA's previous outlook in May forecast a 5.1 percent decline for 2010.