by Smith Leonard Furniture Insights survey shows that orders and shipments also were down in the single digits compared with March
HIGH POINT — New orders for residential furniture in April were down 9% from April 2024, while shipments were down 2% compared with the same period according to the latest Furniture Insights report by Smith Leonard.
In addition, orders were down 7% from March while shipments were down 4% from the same month.
New orders totaled just over $2 billion, compared with $2.2 billion in April 2024 and $2.15 billion in March. About two-thirds of those furniture companies surveyed reported a decrease compared with April 2024.
April shipments totaled $2.17 billion, down from $2.2 billion in April 2024 and $2.26 billion in March. April shipments were up for about half of those surveyed.
Year-to-date orders totaling $8.3 billion were down 4% from $8.7 billion the same period last year, and year-to-date shipments totaling $8.8 billion were down slightly from $8.9 billion the same period last year.
Meanwhile, backlogs totaling $2.36 billion were down 10% from $2.64 billion in April 2024 and down 2% from $2.37 billion in March. The report said this was “materially in line with new order and shipment trends.”
Other highlights of the report were as follows:
+ Receivable levels were down 4% from April 2024 and down 1% from March, which it said were both “materially in line with related shipment trends.”
+ Inventories were up 3% from April 2024 and flat compared to March, also “materially in line with prior periods and current operational levels.”
+ The number of factory and warehouse employees was down 4% from April 2024, but down just 1% from March.
+ Payroll expense was up 1% from April 2024, but flat compared with March.
“Inventories and employee/payroll levels are again materially in line with recent months and the prior year,” the report said. “However, with the gradual decline in employees, it does appear companies are allowing some normal attrition to occur without rushing to find replacements.”
