Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Smith Leonard: Furniture Orders Down 8% in May
July 30,
2020 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
New orders in May were down 8% from May 2019 and up 166% over April 2020. The May, April and March results offset the fairly good results of January and February resulted in a decline in year to date orders of 18%, according to a report by the Smith Leonard accounting and consulting firm.
The firm’s monthly survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributers showed new orders increased for only 19% of the participants for the month from May 2019.
The survey also showed shipments in May 2020 dropped 31% over May 2019. The lower shipments was expected as a result of the decline in orders the last three months. A few participants reported increased shipments over May 2019. Year to date shipments were down 18%.
Backlogs increased 20% over April and were 13% higher than May 2019. Receivable levels were down 25% over May 2019. Inventories fell 10% from April and were 6% below May 2019.