Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Survey: Furniture Factory Orders Jump 12% in March
June 1,
2017 by Larry Thomas in Economic News, Industry 
Furniture factory orders in March were 12% ahead of the same month in 2016, representing the second double-digit increase in four months, according to the latest Furniture Insights survey from the accounting and consulting firm Smith Leonard.
Smith Leonard said 77% of survey participants reported increased orders in March, while 71% reported increased shipments.
March shipments were 6% ahead of March 2016, the survey said, while order backlogs were up 8%.
The March increases boosted the first-quarter numbers that included no increase in factory orders in January and only a 2% rise in shipments.
According to the survey, first-quarter orders were 6% ahead of the same quarter last year, while shipments were up 4% year-over-year.
In a note accompanying the survey results, Smith Leonard partner Ken Smith said the strong March numbers were somewhat higher than expected, given the overall sluggishness of the economy and comments he heard from industry executives at the April High Point Market.
“While the overall economic conditions in the U.S. continue to be a bit sluggish, the key factors continue to be somewhat strong,” Smith wrote. “While housing is off a bit, the stock market has been very strong; inflation is not bad except for energy indexes; and retail in general is positive, along with good consumer confidence.
“All of this together should continue to product more furniture sales along the rest of the year.”