November factory orders decline 23% from 2007
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 9, 2009
HIGH POINT — U.S. furniture factory orders in November were down 23% from the same month in 2007, according to Smith Leonard.
The downturn wasn't quite as sharp as in October, when orders were down 28% from October 2007, the accounting and consulting firm said. Still, the November results brought the 2008 year-to-date decline down another percentage point, to 13%.
Factory shipments in November, meanwhile, were down 21% from a year ago, slightly greater than October's 20% drop.
Shipments for the first 11 months of 2008 were down 11% from a year earlier.
For the year to date, 92% of the participants in Smith Leonard's monthly factory survey said their orders were down from the 2007 pace and 68% said their orders were down more than 10%.
Ken Smith, managing partner of Smith Leonard, said in his monthly Furniture Insights newsletter that he has talked to bankers, economists and industry experts, but that none has a solid prediction of when a recovery might begin or how strong it will be.
He added that the credit situation remains a big concern, with many companies having trouble renewing or renegotiating loans.
“It appears that, at least with many of the larger lenders, the days of working with companies in tough times are gone,” said Smith. “We believe Congress needs to do something with … its stimulus package to force lenders to stop hoarding cash.”
| Factory orders, shipments in Nov. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In billions of dollars | |||
| Change from | |||
| Oct '08 | Nov. '07 | ||
| New orders | $1.552 | -5% | -23% |
| Shipments | 1.601 | -6% | -21% |
| Order backlog | 1.249 | -4% | -25% |
| Jan.-Nov. | Change from 2007 | ||
| New orders | $20.202 | -13% | |
| Shipments | 20.558 | -11% | |
| Source: Smith Leonard | |||
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Factory orders stop slide
Jan 4, 2010 -
July factory orders down 16%
Oct 12, 2009 -
Factory orders up 4% in Jan.
Apr 12, 2010 -
Dec. factory orders rise 12%
Mar 29, 2010
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