Factory orders, shipments slip 8%
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 4, 2007
High Point — Furniture factory orders and shipments skidded to an 8% decline in November compared to the same month a year earlier, according to accounting and consulting firm Smith Leonard.
The weak month followed a relatively stronger October, when orders were down 2% and shipments were off just 3%. The timing of the October High Point Market, a week earlier in 2006, may have been a factor, the firm said.
For the first 11 months of 2006, orders were down 3% and shipments down 2% from the 2005 pace. About two-thirds of the participants in Smith Leonard's survey of U.S. residential furniture factories reported lower orders for the period compared with the previous year.
"The furniture industry at the wholesale level has had a tough fall and early winter," Ken Smith, a Smith Leonard partner, wrote in his monthly Furniture Insights newsletter. "The results from the participants through November seem to reflect what we have heard from most people in the industry."
He said there had been some reports of business improvement in January, but nothing consistent.
"Most industry people we talk with do not expect any major improvement in 2007 although the numbers are not expected to continue to fall significantly for the year," said Smith.
| Factory orders, shipments in November | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In billions of dollars | |||
| Change from | |||
| Nov. '05 | Oct. '06 | ||
| Source: Smith Leonard | |||
| Orders | $2.085 | - 8% | - 2% |
| Shipments | 2.102 | - 8% | - 1% |
| Year end through November | |||
| Orders | $23.721 | - 3% | |
| Shipments | 24.308 | - 2% | |
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Factory orders inch up in Dec.
Mar 25, 2011 -
U.S. furniture factory orders drop 17% in July
Oct 5, 2008 -
Furniture factory orders decline in September
Dec 1, 2010 -
U.S. factory orders climb 11% in October
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