June factory orders down 16% from '08
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, September 7, 2009
HIGH POINT — New orders at U.S. residential furniture factories in June were down 16% from the same month a year earlier, according to Smith Leonard's monthly survey.
The accounting and consulting firm also said that for the first half of 2009, orders and factory shipments were down 20% from the previous year.
And 2008 wasn't a growth year, so orders were down 27% from 2007.
Ken Smith, managing partner of Smith Leonard, noted in his monthly Furniture Insights newsletter that the June decline was the smallest since last September, when orders were down 14% from the previous year.
But he added that June 2008 was the first month when the industry started with its ongoing string of double-digit monthly declines in orders and shipments. In that month, orders were down 14% from June 2007.
Smith said that most people he has talked to in the industry “are just not getting any traction.” Consumer confidence in the present situation remains low, even if confidence in the future has improved somewhat, he said. But he also cited reports of a rebounding global economy.
“This should improve confidence and hopefully lead to continued sales of homes as well as furniture,” he said.
Factory orders, shipments in June
In billions of dollars
| Change from | |||
| May '09 | June '08 | ||
| Source: Smith Leonard |
|||
| New Orders | $1.558 | -2% | -16% |
| Shipments | 1.671 | 4% | -19% |
| Order backlog | 1.169 | -2% | -21% |
| Jan-June | Change from 2009 | ||
| New Orders | $9.337 | -20% | |
| Shipments | 9.482 | -20% | |
-
August orders down 12%
Nov 9, 2009 -
Factory orders up 4% in Jan.
Apr 12, 2010 -
Factory orders stop slide
Jan 4, 2010 -
Factory orders fall 10%
Dec 7, 2009
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