US Furniture Orders Shrink For Second Consecutive Month

According to Smith Leonard's latest Furniture Insight report, new orders in June decreased by 6 percent in US dollars compared to the same period in 2023, marking the third decline in the past 13 months and the second consecutive month of decline.

Orders were down for around two-thirds of survey participants. Compared with May, orders were down 8 percent. Year to date, orders are up 3 percent compared with 2023, although that spread has narrowed significantly with the past two months of declines, Smith Leonard said.

Shipments in June were down 8 percent from last year but flat from May. Shipments were down for around 80 percent of survey participants compared with last year. They’re down 9 percent year to date. Backlogs were down 6 percent from last June and down 2 percent from May.

Receivable levels were down 7 percent from last June and down 1 percent from May. Inventories were down 16 percent from last June and are even from May.

The numbers of factory and warehouse employees were down 6 percent from last June and down 3 percent from May. Year to date, payroll expense is down 7 percent.

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