U.S. residential furniture factory orders drop 27% in April
Shipments down 21% from a year earlier
Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, July 2, 2009
 Furniture factory orders, shipments in April 2009 |
But Ken Smith, managing director of the accounting and consulting firm, said the High Point Market's late-April date this year may have delayed some orders. The spring market ran April 25-30 this year but was earlier in 2008.
In its monthly Furniture Insights newsletter, the firm said its factory survey indicated that orders were off 22% for the first four months of this year, with 93% of respondents saying their orders were down. That's a better performance than in the fourth quarter of 2008, when orders were down 26% from a year earlier.
"Overall the economy in general, while still suffering, appears to be nearing bottom in most cases and actually showing some life in others," Smith said. "Reading the Beige Book report from the Federal Reserve, the comments are mostly negative, but there were reports of ‘stabilizing' or some upticks in certain districts."
He added that the furniture industry is showing "signs of life," but that results remain uneven. He noted that summer historically isn't the best selling season and that the industry is likely to be looking at "baby step improvements over the next several months, if not longer."
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A 27% plunge is not a "baby step" down. More Obama-speak economics?
benny salami - 2009-3-7 12:58:26 EDT
May factory orders down 17%
08/23/2009
