Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Smith Leonard: Furniture Orders Down 9% in April
July 3,
2019 by Laurie Northington in Designer Weekly, Economic News, Industry 
New orders in April were down 9% from April 2018 and 3% 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 only 36% of the participants for the month. Year-to-date, new orders were down for 64% of the participants.
The survey also showed, shipments in April 2019 dropped 2% over April 2018. Year-to-date, shipments were up 2%, but only 48% reported increased year-to-date shipments.
Backlogs remained even with March 2019 as dollar amounts on orders and shipments were about the same. Receivable and inventory levels remain high compared to current business levels.