Furniture orders mixed in May
A survey of residential furniture manufacturers found that new orders failed to rebound as much as expected in May after a late


start to the spring International Home Furnishings Market dampened results in April.

However, the survey from High Point accounting and consulting firm BDO Seidman said that May new orders, which were flat from a year ago, were up 18 percent over April, and year-to-date figures are slightly ahead of 2012.

Shipments of completed orders were up 1 percent over last May and 6 percent from April. Backlogs of orders were down slightly from last year, and even from April.

The number of factory employees fell 5 percent from May 2012 to this year, though the number of workers was about even with April. Payrolls were down 8 percent from a year ago and 2 percent from the previous month. Employment declines have been persistent in recent years, with the survey reporting that the May 2012 figures had been about 6 percent lower than in 2004.

Overall, the survey analysis concluded that “business at retail is not that good at most furniture stores,” possibly because disposable incomes are failing to keep pace with rising interest rates and energy prices.