New orders drop 21% in December versus 2007
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, March 9, 2009
HIGH POINT — New orders for residential furniture were off by 21% in December of 2008 compared to the same month in 2007 and 9% lower than those in November of 2008, according to the most recent report from Smith Leonard.
Total new orders for the year came in 14% lower than 2007, the consulting firm reported.
Furniture shipments declined 22% in December versus a year ago. Total shipments in 2008 were down 12% from 2007.
According to Ken Smith, director of furniture services for Smith Leonard, furniture backlogs also fell 23% in December from the same month a year earlier.
The slump continues to take a toll on employment within the sector. The number of employees in December dipped 17% from a year earlier.
Nothing that “December results were in line with expectations,” Smith added that the majority of economic reports are not predicting much of an upturn for the rest of 2009.
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