by Smith Leonard Furniture Insights report also noted that new orders rose 1% while shipments were flat from December
HIGH POINT — New orders for residential furniture were flat compared with January 2025 while shipments were down during the same period according to the latest Furniture Insights report from Smith Leonard.
The firm said that new orders in January totaled $2.05 billion, level with January 2025. Roughly 50% of survey participants reported increases versus decreases in January compared to a year ago.
Meanwhile new orders rose 1% from $2.03 billion in December, the report noted.
January shipments totaled $2.06 billion, down 7% from $2.22 billion in January 2025, which the report said may have been impacted by weather-related limitations and closings. The report also said that January shipments were down for about two-thirds of survey participants compared with January 2025.
January shipments were flat with December 2025, which the report also said may be impacted by the weather, particularly given the expected bump in business after the December holiday break and also because they were also up 8% in January 2025 over December 2025.
January backlogs totaled $2.35 billion, which was level with backlogs in January 2025 and December.
Other highlights of the report were as follows:
+ Receivable levels were up 1% from January 2025 but up 15% from December
+ Inventories were up 9% from January 2025 and up 7% over December
+ The number of factory and warehouse employees was down 4% from January 2025 but level with December, which the report said continued last year’s trend.
+ Payroll expenses were down 2% compared with January 2025 and up 8% from December, which the report indicated was “reasonable given the impact of the holidays and weather respectively.”
