Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Smith Leonard Survey: New Orders Up 6% in June
September 1,
2017 by Larry Thomas in Economic News, Industry 
New orders in June rose 6% over June of 2016 and 6% year-to-date according to a report by the Smith Leonard accounting and consulting firm.
The firm’s monthly survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors showed new orders increased for approximately 60% of the participants for the month, up slightly from last month. Year-to-date, new orders were up for approximately 68% of the participants, up from 60% reporting last month.
The survey also showed, shipments in June 2017 were up 7% over June 2016 with year-to-date shipments up 5% for the first half of the year. Shipments for the month were up for some 83% of the participants, the highest percentage in quite some time.
For the six months, approximately 65% of the participants reported increases in shipments.
Backlogs fell 4% from May as shipments exceeded new orders. Backlog comparison from June 2016 showed a 6% increase, down from 11 percent reported in the May to May comparison.
Receivable and inventory levels remained in good shape with receivables up 5% over June 2016 and inventory levels up 3% over June 2016. Both of the comparisons seemed to be in line based on shipment and order levels.