Orders for residential furniture continued to fall at the end of 2013, off by 6 percent in December from the year


before with orders for all of 2013 down 3 percent from 2012, according to the accounting and consulting firm SmithLeonard in High Point.

The yearly decline followed a rebound in 2012, when orders grew by 2 percent compared to 2004.

Business has been soft for furniture manufacturers for some time, but the survey analysis noted that the picture may be at least somewhat brighter at the retail level because the decline is measured in dollar volume at the manufacturer level. Sales by retailers using overseas suppliers aren’t reflected in the declining numbers, the survey noted.

Shipments of completed orders fell 5 percent in December and 2 percent for the full year.

Factory payrolls in December were 12 percent lower than last year, and down 8 percent for the year. The survey said that steep decline reflected the number of factory closings in 2013.