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From Home Furnishing Business
Survey: Furniture Factory Orders Climb 8% in November
February 1,
2017 by Larry Thomas in Financial Reports, Industry 
Furniture factory orders in November were 8% ahead of the same month in 2015, marking the fourth straight monthly increase in new orders, according to the latest Furniture Insights survey from the accounting and consulting firm Smith Leonard.
According to the survey, 61% of the participating companies reported an increase in new orders in November.
The survey said November shipments were 4% ahead of November 2015, while the order backlog recorded a 2% increase.
For the first 11 months of 2016, new orders were up 3% from the same period in 2015, but only 43% of the participants reported an increase during that period.
Ken Smith, managing partner at Smith Leonard, said most other economic indicators, including consumer confidence, remain positive for the residential furniture industry.
“Even with the stock market’s slight pull back, overall, it is still strong,” Smith wrote in a newsletter accompanying the survey. “And from what we are hearing, while business can always be better, it seems to be doing fairly well.”