July indicators mixed
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, September 10, 2001
HIGH POINT — July economic indicators for the furniture industry were mixed, with two out of seven posting flat numbers compared with June results, two reporting increases and three showing decreases.
Privately owned housing starts were up 2.8% and sales of new single-family homes grew by 4.9%. The furniture producer price index and furniture factory employment were flat. Declines were posted by consumer spending on furniture and bedding, furniture factory capacity and existing single-family home resales.
Comparisons with year-earlier figures varied widely, from up 13.2% for new home sales to a 5.8% drop in furniture factory employment. Employment, including both residential and contract production workers, has been trending down from its eight-year high of 565,000 employees in July 2000. In July 2001, there were 532,000 furniture factory workers, matching June employment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In the last 13 months, monthly annualized rates of consumer spending on furniture and bedding, issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce, varied from $65.9 billion in July 2000 to March's $63.3 billion. July 2001 spending was $64.2 billion, down slightly from June spending of $64.6 billion and down 2.5% from July a year ago. This compares with $64.1 billion spent in 2000 and $60 billion in 1999.
Housing starts in July reached 1.7 million; home resales fell to 5.2 million. The U.S. Department of Commerce, through the Bureau of the Census, releases statistics on housing starts, and new home sales and home resales are tracked by the National Assn. of Realtors. New home sales, at 950,000 for July, had the largest percentage increase compared with June of this year.
All July 2001 numbers are preliminary figures and are subject to revision. Monthly figures represent annualized rates, except for the producer price index, factory capacity and employment.
| July indicators | ||
|---|---|---|
| June, 2001 | July, 2000 | |
| % change from | ||
| Sales of new single-family homes | 4.9% | 7.8% |
| Privately owned housing starts | 2.8% | 13.2% |
| Furniture producer price index | 0.0% | 1.3% |
| Furniture factory employment | 0.0% | -5.8% |
| Consumer spending on furniture & bedding | -0.5% | -2.5% |
| Furniture factory capacity utilization | -0.9% | -4.4% |
| Existing single-family home resales | -3.0% | 7.3% |
| Source: Furniture/Today market research, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, U.S. Dept. of Labor, National Assn. of Realtors, U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development and U.S. Federal Reserve Board | ||
