Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Smith Leonard: Furniture Orders Up 27% in December
March 1,
2021 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
New orders in December were up 27% over December 2019 orders, according to a report by Smith Leonard accounting and consulting firm.
The firm’s monthly survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors showed new order increases for 84% of the participants for the month and 2020 orders were up 15% over 2019.
Shipments in December were only up 5% over December 2019, but 74% of the participants reported increased shipments. For 2020, shipments decreased by 6%. Approximately 78% of the participants reported declines in shipments for the year. With orders increasing more than shipments, backlogs grew again. Backlogs at the end of December were 168% higher than December a year ago.
Receivable levels remain in good shape for the most part. Inventories were still down from last year levels but did grow in December.