U.S. factory orders drop 8% in April
Shipments decline 5%
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, July 2, 2008
HIGH POINT — U.S. furniture factory orders in April were down 8% from the same month a year earlier and shipments were down 5%, according to Smith Leonard.
The numbers were a little better than the March comparisons, but left the year-to-date statistics unchanged with declines of 8% in orders and 7% in shipments from the 2007 pace, the accounting and consulting firm reported.
For the first four months of the year, about 86% of the participants in Smith Leonard’s monthly survey said their orders were lower than the same period of 2007, which was up slightly from March.
“While the mood at the April market was good, it does not appear that orders were as good as the mood, at least by the end of the month,” Ken Smith, managing partner of Smith Leonard, wrote in his monthly Furniture Insights newsletter.
He noted that this year has continued to bring bad economic news. Consumer confidence, a key to furniture sales, “is really in the dumps,” said Smith. He added that while many people he has talked with reported a decent Memorial Day at retail, business has fallen off since then.
“Also, if you haven’t raised prices at retail or wholesale, you probably should do so now,” said Smith. “At least when consumers do come back, there may be enough margin to make it worth while. If everything else the consumer is buying costs more, why shouldn’t furniture?”
| U.S. furniture factory orders, shipments in April | |||
| In billions of dollars | Change from | ||
| Mar. 2008 | Apr. 2007 | ||
| New orders | $1.978 | -3% | -8% |
| Shipments | 1.962 | -9% | -5% |
| Order backlog | 1.618 | 4% | -11% |
| Jan.-Apr. | Change from 2007 | ||
| New orders | 7.971 | -8% | |
| Shipments | 7.902 | -7% | |
| Source: Smith Leonard |
