Reviving the outdoor furniture market

Economic turmoil, fewer new housing starts, scarce credit and consumer insecurities interrupted a healthy growth trend in the U.S. outdoor furniture market, according to a report by Global Industry Analysts Inc. (GIA), San Jose, Calif. That growth will resume in 2011, thanks to trends toward outdoor living, increased focus on quality time at home and travel concerns that have replaced vacations with “staycations.” GIA’s “Outdoor Furniture: A U.S. Market Report” projects that the U.S. outdoor furniture market will exceed $4.4 billion by 2015.