Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Survey Says: Furniture Factory Orders Up 4% in February
May 3,
2017 by Larry Thomas in Economic News, Industry 
Furniture factory orders in February increased 4% over the same month in 2016 as the industry appeared to rebound from a flat January, according to the latest Furniture Insights survey.
The monthly survey, conducted by the accounting and consulting firm Smith Leonard, showed that two-thirds of the participants reported an increase in February orders.
Shipments in February were 3% ahead of February 2016, while order backlogs rose 1%, the survey said.
“Based on our conversations at the High Point Market, recent results have been mixed,” Smith Leonard partner Ken Smith wrote in a newsletter accompanying the survey results. “We used the term ‘spotty’ at times, though we thought that might be a bit negative, yet many agreed with that term.”
Smith noted that the U.S. economy has been sluggish since the start of the year, but noted that interest rates, the stock market, the housing market, and consumer confidence all appear to be favorable.
“We continue to expect 2017 to be a good year for the residential furniture business,” Smith wrote.
The flat January ended a string of five consecutive months where factory orders were higher than the same month the prior year. The last monthly order decline occurred in July 2016.
Shipments were up slightly in January, and February’s 3% increase was the fourth straight monthly jump in that category.