Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Smith Leonard: Furniture Orders Up 96% in March, 40% from 2019
May 28,
2021 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
New orders in March were up 96% over March 2020, mainly due to many businesses being shut down in March 2020 at the onset of the pandemic, according to a report by Smith Leonard accounting and consulting firm.
The firm’s monthly survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors also compared March 2021 to March 2019 and showed that orders were up 40% in that comparison.
Shipments were up 34%. While still not up with orders, shipments seem to be catching up somewhat. As orders once again exceeded shipments in dollars, backlogs continued to grow, increasing 6% over February 2021 and up 251% over March 2020.
Receivable levels continue to be in good shape. The Paycheck Protection Program money has really helped many dealers with their cash flow. Inventories continue to climb as material purchases are improving and imported goods are coming back slowly.