Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Smith Leonard: Furniture Orders Down 29% in March
June 1,
2020 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
Not surprisingly, new orders for March were down 29% from March 2019 and 23% from February, according to a report by Smith Leonard accounting and consulting firm. Orders in March were down for 87% of the participants versus increased orders in February for 71% of the participants.
The survey also shows new orders declined 8% year-to-date and were down for 69% of the participants. At the end of February, orders year to date were up 4% and up for about 67% of the participants.
Shipments fell 11% in March from March 2019 with 68% reporting a decline in shipments. The March decline brought year to date shipments to a 4% decline for the year with 59% reporting declining shipments.
The decline in shipments was not as severe as the decline in orders as participants were working off backlogs so shipments were sustained in some cases, though backlogs also were down due to cancellations as well.
Receivable levels seemed pretty much in line at least with year to date shipments. The decline in orders and shipments that occurred so quickly did not allow for adjustments to inventory levels as inventory levels remained steady with February.